You're All I Need
by NiCoLe7409
Summary: Picks up after the season finale! Focuses mainly on Naley, also Brucas and Jeyton. Please read and review! COMPLETED!
1. The Consequences Of Coming Home

**WooHoo! It's my first fanfic EvEr! This first chapter is kind of general, but eventually I want it to focus mainly on Naley. I'm not too sure about this, so please comments would be so helpful. **

**This picks up from the season finale! The only thing I'm taking out from the finale is that Lucas and Peyton never went to the beach. It doesn't really work with the timing on my story! Please read and review! **

Hi.

It's the simplest of all greetings. But coming from Haley, it meant so much more than that. Nathan stood there opened mouth for a good 5 minutes before he realized he should speak.

"Wh-What are you doing here Haley?"

"I made a mistake. Can we talk?"

"Now you want to talk! I wanted to talk to you when I drove all the way to Austin just to see you! But when they needed you on stage, away you went! Once again you chose music over me. "

"It wasn't like that Nathan and you know it! I asked you to stay so we could talk after the show but you left anyways!"

"Because it pained me to watch you walk away from me again! Haley, you have no idea what its been like for me for the last 3 months! I have barely slept since you left, but I'm sure you slept comfortably with Chris Keller in your bed." He smirked.

"For the last time, Chris means absolutely nothing to me!"

"Well from what Brooke told me, 'friends with benefits' doesn't have to be with someone you're fond of! You could just be in it for the benefits!"

"You know what, shame on me for thinking that we could actually have a civil conversation without it turning into a screaming match."

"Whatever, I'm sure Chris would be willing to have a screaming match with you." Nathan shut the door and went back to his room. 'Who does she think she is?' He thought. 'Just coming back, asking for forgiveness. But how hot did she look in those jeans, damn.. Wait what am I saying, she left me.'

Deb sighed as she walked away from the window. She was glad Haley was back actually, she always liked her, even though she hardly showed it. It killed her to see how much Nathan was hurting after Haley left. And although she's ecstatic Nathan moved back home, she knows he's not happy. He's only truly happy when with his wife. Sure, she's upset that someone else took her son away, but it's something every mother goes through. Her thoughts were interrupted when the phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Hi, this is Tree Hill Hospital calling. A Mr. Dan Scott was brought in earlier, may I please talk to Debra Scott?"

"This is she.. What's going on? What's wrong with my husband?"

"You might want to come down to the hospital right away ma'm. We can explain it when you get here."

Deb barely heard the nurse finish her sentence as she hung up and ran off to find Nathan.

"NATHAN!" She screamed until she found him in his room.

"What's going on mom?"

"Get in the car, we have to get to the hospital."

Haley went back to her car and drove back to their apartment. What she didn't know was that Nathan had moved out. It had been kind of weird that he was at his parent's house, but maybe he was just visiting. When she walked in the door, she couldn't believe her eyes. Pink paint, the creepy clown still hanging on the wall, no furniture. 'What have I done?" She said aloud. Good thing she didn't sign the annulment papers. She simply handed the envelope back to Lucas with no signature on the line. 'He won't get rid of me that easily.' And with that said she walked back out the door.

After driving around town for awhile, she ended up at Lucas's house. Surely Karen wouldn't mind her staying there, right? Lucas answered the door after she rang the doorbell, looking a little sleepy. Guess it was nearly midnight. But in bed so soon on a Saturday night?

"Geez Lucas, party much?"

"What are you doing here Haley?" He asked rubbing his eyes.

"Hmm, you're brother said the same thing.."

"You saw Nathan? Wow how did that go?"

"Let's just say not good. I don't really want to talk about it now, is it ok if I spend the night?"

"Sure Hales, with Brooke in California, there's more room now."

"I meant to ask you about that when you guys were in New York.. What's going on with you two?"

"Absolutely nothing. She found a box of pictures of Peyton that I had saved to remind me of the terrible things I did to them and well, she kind of took it the wrong way. Let's just say, she didn't enjoy the goodbye kiss, at least I don't think she did.."

"You kissed her! When?"

"Right before she got in the cab to leave for the airport. She left anyways though."

"Guess best friends really do have a lot in common. Someone pours their heart out to us and we leave anyways."

"Aww Hales come here." Lucas pulled her into a hug. "It'll all work out. Come on, lets go watch a movie or something."

Flight 187 to Los Angeles, California, now boarding.

"Well guess this is me." Brooke said tearfully as she picked up her bag.

"Is everything alright ma'm?" The worker asked as she handed him her ticket.

"Yeah, I'll be fine as soon as I can come back." With that she walked towards the plane.

"Excuse me? Who do you think you are! My mom is dead!"

"No, she's not. Anna was your adoptive mother."

"No, she was my real mother! Seriously, get out of here before I call the cops."

"Don't talk to your mother like that. You don't know the whole story, please can we talk?"

"Actually, I think I'm going to call my dad. He'll come home and he'll painfully remind me once again how my mom is dead."

"No Peyton, please don't. Listen to me. I used to date your father in high school. I ended up pregnant and just a year after you were born, I took off. I was scared and my parent's disapproved and I didn't know what else to do. Eventually I tried to come back, but your father refused to let me see you and eventually got full custody of you. Later he married Anna and I guess he never felt the need to tell you about me."

"You're lying." Peyton slammed the door in Elizabeth's face. She then picked up the phone and dialed a number.

"Larry Sawyer please."

Deb and Nathan got to the hospital in record time. They immediately ran to the nurses' desk asking for Dan Scott. The nurse told them to take a seat while she paged the doctor. 10 minutes later, the doctor showed up.

"Hello. I'm Dr. Smith. You're husband was brought in earlier by ambulance. Someone who had been on an evening jog could see a burning building in the distance and well, that building was Dan Scott motors. The person called the fire department and they were able to rescue Dan. He has some burns, nothing too severe. However we did find something else. Traces of painkillers were showing up in his bloodstream. Has he had a history of drug abuse?"

"Not that I know of. Will he be ok?"

"He should be fine, right now he is in a coma but things are looking good. He will have to have more treatments for his burns and if he is in fact a drug abuser, he will need to seek help."

"Yes I understand. Thank you doctor."

"It is not problem. He is in room 331 if you want to see him."

Deb and Nathan headed up to the room to see Dan. Neither were sure what to expect. Would he look differently? Did the burns distort his image? Was he addicted to painkillers like Deb once was? Why did the dealership go up in flames? Too many questions..

"Well here goes nothing," Deb sighed and they walked in.


	2. Trying To Work Things Out

Haley woke up to the sunlight pouring in from the window. She was confused at first about where she was until she realized the previous night's events. Apparently she and Lucas fell asleep on the couch watching a movie. Trying to carefully get up from underneath his grasp, he woke up anyways.

"5 more minutes mom."

"I'm glad you think so highly of me," she remarked sarcastically.

"Hales? What are you doing here?"

"Hmm.. last night ring a bell?"

"Oh yeah.. Guess I just thought it was a dream. Glad it wasn't though! So how about we go over to the café for some breakfast!"

"Sounds good. I never got the chance to say hi to your mom last night."

"Well, you're going to have to wait a little longer! She went to New Zealand with Andy."

"Wow Luke, you ok with that?"

"Yeah, she deserves to be with someone that makes her happy. I kind of always wished it was Keith, but Andy's pretty cool. Come on, lets go get some food!"

Lucas and Haley drove over to the café and realized it wasn't open. Deb was supposed to be running the café while Karen was in New Zealand.

"That's weird. Where do you think she could be?" Lucas wondered aloud.

Deb and Nathan walked into Dan's room to see his body lying there motionless. Wires and tubes hooked up everywhere. He didn't look too bad. A few noticeable burns, nothing major. Deb and Nathan tried to get comfortable sitting in the hospital chairs while an awkward silence fell upon the room.

"Sooo…" They both began at the same time.

"How did things go with Haley last night?" Deb honestly wanted to know.

"Well, she said she made a mistake. Which I already knew. It's just the pain is just too much sometimes. I mean, I gave up High Flyers for her. And when the tour came up, she didn't give it up for me. Suddenly music was more important to her."

"Honey, I don't think anything is more important than you to her."

"Yeah I doubt that, but thanks mom."

"I'm serious sweetie. She might not be your favorite person right now, but you love her. You married her. You chose to spend your life with her. At least hear her out. Trust me, your father and I would have separated long ago if he hadn't given me any more chances."

"I thought you would be happy that Haley left me. It's not like you exactly welcomed her into the family."

"I know I was harsh on you two. It's just that every mother doesn't want to lose her son. And to see another woman hold a piece of your heart that I can't ever hold saddens me sometimes. I took my anger out on you guys and I'm sorry for that. But I am willing to give her another chance. Please Nate just hear her out. You might be surprised at what she has to say."

"Yeah, I guess. I don't know. I leave for High Flyers tomorrow, so it's not like we can spend a lot of time together just talking this summer."

"Well is High Flyers really your dream?"

"You know, Lucas sort of asked me the same question when I took the HCM test. He asked that if I knew I had HCM wouldn't it be like giving up my future. At the time I said Haley was my future. And honestly, I still believe that. She makes me happy, she makes me laugh, and obviously she can piss me off. But I love her. I just don't know if it's enough. If I don't go to High Flyers, will I regret it?"

"Well maybe you have your answer then. Talk to her today, work things out. Go to the camp tomorrow and hopefully in the end, you won't regret anything."

Nathan gets up and hugs Deb. "Thanks mom. I guess I'm going to go find Haley and finish packing! Call me if anything changes with dad."

"Of course I will. Now go get your wife!" After Nathan left, Deb went down to the chapel, once again, to pray.

Lucas tried calling Deb on her cell, but kept getting the message saying it was shut off. "I guess it would be ok if the cafe didn't open just this once.."

"Don't worry about it Luke. I'm sure Deb has a good reason as to why she's not here. Anyways I think I'm going to go back to the apartment and try and fix it up. I guess I'll continue living there with or without Nathan..."

"Again Hales I gotta say everything will work out. Do you want me to come with you?"

"No that's ok. I think I'll just run to the store to buy some paint and then head over. Call me later!"

"Ok I will.. be careful!"

"Yes mommy." She chuckled and walked down the street.

Finally after buying paint to match the color her walls used to be, she headed back to the apartment. 'It's so empty and unwelcoming.' she thought.

Haley then noticed a piece of paper on the floor. She picked it up and realized it was one of Peyton's drawings, or at least the same style. "Sometimes they come back." She read aloud. "Sometimes they come back.." And for the first time since she got back to Tree Hill she cried. Crying was nothing new to Haley. She cried herself to sleep nearly every night she was away. Longing for Nathan to be beside her, longing to see his face in the morning, and it never happened. So she came back to try and fix the mess she made. And as she expected, Nathan was bitter towards her. She deserved this though, right? Haley left Nathan. Not the other way around. And from the looks of this drawing, he had high hopes that she would come back. But she didn't until it was too late. So there she sat in the middle of the floor, of her empty apartment, surrounded by paint cans, crying like there was no tomorrow. Crying so hard, she didn't even hear the door open behind her.

"Haley?" She jumped at the sound of his voice. "Haley what's wrong?"

"This!" She shoved the piece of paper in his face. "Everything I did to hurt you. I left you and you came after me. I left you and you still had hope that I would come back. I'm so sorry.." The tears began flowing even harder as Nathan pulled her into a hug.

"Listen, everything will be alright. You're home, I'm home. Come on lets get something to eat so we can talk."

"Ok," she sniffled. "The café isn't open though. Where is your mom?"

"Oh! Well someone tried to kill Dan last night by lighting the dealership on fire. He's in the hospital in a coma and my mom is with him."

"Oh my gosh Nathan, I'm sorry."

"Ah don't be. He got what he deserved. So how about we go back to my house and see what we can dig up there?" They left the apartment hand in hand. Things were definitely looking up.

When they got to the house..

"Haley what kind of a sandwich do you want? Turkey? Ham? PB & J?"

"Are you sure you can handle making a meal?"

"Hey I resent that. Just because the pancake incident of October 4th went up in flames doesn't mean that I can't make a sandwich."

"If you say so, turkey please."

Nathan finished the sandwiches and they walked into the living room to watch a movie. 'Here goes nothing,' Haley thought to herself.

"Listen.." They both began.

"You first."

"Haley, I just gotta say this and get it out there. I'm leaving tomorrow. For High Flyers." He awaited for her response.

"Um.. Wow! That's great. Finally going after your dream. I really am happy for you. Although I do regret not bringing you along with me on the tour, it was great to experience one of my dreams."

"And I regret you not bringing me along either." He chuckled. Haley wasn't too sure how to take the remark. "Hales, It's okay, I'm just kidding. But we really need to talk about us."

"Okay, Let me go first. When I left, I was confused. This amazing opportunity was practically being handed to me, but I didn't really want to leave you either."

"But you did." He smirked.

"Please Nathan, just let me finish! Performing on stage wasn't the same anymore. Everyone I knew was mad at me for just leaving, you, Lucas, Brooke, and Peyton. I didn't have anyone to share my success with. I think it started to show in my performances. The tour managers began questioning if I could even do it. I became more and more depressed, crying myself to sleep every night. All I could think about was you."

"Then why didn't you come home sooner? Why didn't you come home with me when I came after you?"

"Because I was hoping things would change. It sounds stupid now, but I did. That message I left you on the answering machine, I'm not—"

"Oh, about that. I sort of never listened to it. I kind of erased it..."

"Well that just makes me feel so much better!"

"I was pissed and bitter and just didn't want to have to hear what you had to say! God Haley, this whole music thing killed me. Yes I pushed you to pursue your dreams, but I wanted to be with you! Countless nights spent thinking of you and drinking. That pretty much sums up my life for the last 3 months."

"I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry," He mimicked. "Is that really enough? Can those words erase the pain of the last 3 months?"

"But I am! And now you know how much I was hurting! But I'm back, and I'm staying. The music thing is not for me, at least not yet. I love you Nathan and nothing else matters."

"I love you too, but sometimes it's not enough."

"What else do we need Nathan? Tell me what I can do to make things better. You're leaving tomorrow for God's sake!"

"Well maybe that is what we need. Time and space."

"Time and space! I was away for 3 months and you were pissed. Now you want more space? Great, that's great Nathan. Call me when you've had enough space." Haley got up and left. She drove around for an hour just thinking about Nathan. 'How could this have happened? Everything is spinning out of control so quickly.. Why did I leave?' She began crying again when she didn't notice the truck headed straight for her.

Nathan was so frustrated after she left, he didn't know what to do. 'God I screwed up again. I love her, I really do, and I want to work things out but this all is just too painful.' He grabbed a basketball and went outside. There was nothing like shooting hoops to clear his mind.

About 20 minutes after he had been outside, Lucas came over. "You're not still mad at me are you little brother?"

"Well, let's see. You lied to me about going after Dan. You lied to me about going to see Haley. Bottom line, you lied to me. I don't need anymore lying in my life."

"I know! And I'm sorry, but I did it for you man. I wanted to help you get away from Dan. I wanted to try and convince Haley to come home. She told me that she wasn't coming home. Any idea why she did?"

"She said she was sorry and wanted to make things better. I don't know what to do Luke. I'm leaving tomorrow and she probably doesn't want to talk to me."

"That sounds like Hales alright. Well listen, I just wanted to say I'm sorry, so I guess I'll see ya around." He began to walk back down the driveway.

"Hey Luke! How about some one-on-one? Still think you can beat me?"

"Of course, little brother." And the two began playing like brothers should.

"Ahhh!" Haley screamed as she swerved out of the way of truck when she finally realized what was going on. The car ended up going into a nearby ditch. "Damnit!" She got out her phone. "Lucas? Hey it's me Haley. Can you come tow my car? I sort of drove it into a ditch…"

"Into a ditch? How the hell did you do that Haley?" Nathan was suddenly interested in Lucas's phone call.

"Well I wasn't thinking clearly and I wasn't paying attention a truck was coming at me and at the last minute I swerved out of the way."

"Wow. What's going on with you today? Where are you? I'll be there soon." Haley gave him the road she was on and Lucas got ready to leave.

"Luke, what's going on man?"

"It's Haley. She was almost hit by a truck, but luckily got out of the way in time. However her car is now in a ditch so I have to go get it. Want to come?"

"Nah, I'll just stay here. Maybe go back to the hospital."

"The hospital? What happened?"

"No one called you? Sorry… It's Dan. Someone lit the dealership on fire with him in it and now he's in a coma."

"Whoa. Well I guess he got what he deserved."

"That's what I said too. What loving sons we are."

"That we are!" Lucas chuckled. "Anyways, see you probably tomorrow? Maybe I'll come say goodbye at the airport."

"Alright man, later."

"Haley what happened? Wait nevermind, you told me. Are you alright?"

"Yeah I'm fine, just a little shaken up. Can we go?"

"Sure, let me just hook your car to the back of the truck." After doing so they left and dropped the car off at Keith's, actually Dan's, service shop.

"Hales, do you mind if we go to the hospital? I just found out about Dan and I figure I should probably go see him. I could use you there to make sure I don't unplug any important IV's or something."

"Sure I'll go. Don't really want to go back to my empty apartment and be alone."

"Alright, let's go."

"Hey mom, how's he doing?"

"Same. But the doctors say he'll be fine. How did things go with Haley?"

"Not good. I just don't know what else to do."

"Give her time sweetie, she'll come around."

"I think I'm going to go to the chapel. Even though I think Dan deserved this, I wouldn't wish death on him." And he walked out of the room and down to the chapel not noticing who was walking out of the elevator behind him.


	3. Goodbyes

Lucas and Haley didn't notice Nathan as he turned the opposite corner heading for the chapel. They headed straight for Dan's room.

"Deb, Hi. Nathan told me what happened. I'm so sorry. Do they know who did this?" Lucas gave Deb a hug.

"Thanks Lucas. No they don't have any ideas yet, but they're still searching for evidence." She turned to Haley and gave her a hug. "Hi Haley, glad to see your back."

"Um thanks, I think. How are you holding up?"

"Oh I'm fine, don't worry about me. But Nathan is down in the chapel and I'm sure he could use some support right now."

"I don't know if that is such a good idea Mrs. Scott.."

"Ok first of all, call me Deb, I am your mother-in-law after all! Secondly, I know that Nathan loves you and just being with you is what he needs right now. So go!" Haley wasn't sure what to think of this kinder Deb so she decided to leave before things got even weirder. After she left, Deb and Lucas sat down.

"So tell me Deb, are you really ok?"

"Yeah I really am. The doctors say he'll be fine and he will definitely wake up, it's only a matter of time. It's Nathan I'm worried about. Not because of Dan but because of Haley. He seems so torn between her and basketball and I don't know why it can't be both."

"You know, when I visited Haley in New York, I asked her the same thing. Why choose between music and Nathan? I think they love each other too much that they are afraid to go after their dreams because they don't want to hurt the other."

"Maybe so. I just hope they realize that and make room for each other and their dreams in their lives. But it's up to them to figure that out! I'm going to go get some coffee, do you want anything?"

"No that's alright, thanks Deb. I think I'll just stay here for awhile." After Deb left, Lucas pulled up a chair to the side of Dan's bed.

"Hey Dan, it's me, Lucas. I know you can hear me because when I was in a coma, I could hear everyone talking to me. Funny how you never visited me in the hospital, but yet here I am visiting you. And I'm sort of sorry to say that you deserved this. You destroyed people's lives and messed with Nathan and Haley's marriage. If you aren't going to wake up a better person, then don't wake up. They don't need you here trying to sabotage their lives. But if you want to see Nathan make it further in the basketball career and if you ever want to see your grandkids.. wow grandkids, that's a weird thought.. but if you want to witness all that, you need to stop being so manipulative and start being the loving father you could have been. Deb is about ready to divorce you. So when you wake up, make a change. Don't blame it all on the Phoenix Effect either! If you aren't willing to make that change, then maybe it's time for you to go." Lucas was starting to get upset and decided to leave, forgetting that Haley was still there.

"Hey God, it's me Nathan. I know that I don't pray or go to church as often as I should, but I could really use your help. Things are pretty messed up right now. I don't wish for Dan to die but I want him to become a better person. Maybe he deserved to be burned but no one deserves death." He was so caught up in his prayer he didn't hear anyone come in. "And things with Haley are getting worse. I know that I love her and I know that I want her in my life, but it's hard to get past all the hurting. Help me be stronger. I can forgive her for what she has done, because I'm doing the same thing. Tomorrow I'll be chasing after my dream, but at least I'm going to tell her goodbye. It's the forgetting that's hard to do." Haley who had been standing in the doorway listening began to tear up. She slowly started to walk over to Nathan trying not to disturb him. "So please God, help my dad be a better person to everyone, help me be a better person for Haley. Wait, Haley? What are you doing here?" Haley had sat down next to Nathan.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I never meant to hurt you."

"I know, but you did.. How much did you hear exactly?"

"Um most of it," she said sheepishly. "And you are a good person Nathan. I feel like I don't deserve you most of the time. I came to say goodbye before you left. Good luck at camp and I love you." Haley practically crying left the chapel, leaving a shocked Nathan still sitting there.

When Haley got back to Dan's room she realized Lucas wasn't there. Deb however was.

"Hey Sweetie, how are you?" Deb smiled warmly at the tear stained girl in front of her.

"Fine, thanks. Where did Lucas go?"

"Sorry, but I think he left. Why don't you have a seat." Haley awkwardly sat down next to Deb anticipating the worst. "So how was Nathan doing?"

"Well I heard him praying about wanting to be a better person for me. Even though I already believe is a good person deep down. I honestly don't deserve him." She began to cry again.

"Honey come here," Deb pulled Haley into a hug. "You deserve him, you really do. You just had to do something for yourself. An amazing opportunity was given to you, how could you not take it? I'm glad you did because I have grown to regret opportunities that I missed. And I know he loves you, just give him time."

"Time? But he's leaving for 3 months! We've already spent 3 months apart, isn't that enough time?"

"Well now he's heard your side of the story. He knows how you feel and he just needs to be able to process that information. Don't lose hope Haley."

"Thanks Deb, although I'm still not sure why you're being so nice to me. I thought you hated me."

"I know I was harsh towards you when I found out you guys were married. It's just that you caught me off guard at a bad time. My husband was in the hospital and I blamed it on myself, before I learned about the genetic defect. I was also upset that another woman had stolen a piece of my son's heart that I can never have. And I was very upset that I didn't get to plan a wedding!" She chuckled.

This caused Haley to laugh. "Aw thanks Deb. I am sorry we ambushed you with the news of our marriage. You were going through a rough time. And if we make it to our first anniversary, then you can throw us a party!" She laughed again.

"Then I should probably start planning because I know that you guys will be alright. Come on, let me take you home."

Nathan was still in the chapel sitting in awe. She doesn't deserve him? He never thought he deserved her. Haley always seemed to be so much better than him, but she opened up her heart anyways. Deciding there was nothing he could do now but give her time, he went back home to finish packing.

After Deb dropped her off, Haley felt she needed a break from all the boys in her life. She decided to go over to Peyton's house. She hadn't seen Peyton yet and wanted to surprise her. When she rang the doorbell, Peyton actually opened the door.

"Haley! Oh my God, what are you doing here!" She exclaimed, hugging Haley.

"I'm back. And I wanted to see my friend!"

"This is great, come on let's go up to my room!" They excitedly bounded up the stairs to her bedroom. "Ahh! It's so great to have a best friend around since Brooke's been gone."

"Yeah Luke told me about that. How are you doing without your other half?" Haley chuckled.

"Been better. My dad's coming home though!"

"That's great Peyton!"

"Yeah I guess so, I just wish it was under different circumstances."

_-Flashback-_

"_Larry Sawyer please"_

"_And may I ask who is calling?"_

"_This is Peyton Sawyer, his daughter, and it's kind of an emergency."_

"_Just one moment please." Terrible music began playing as Peyton was put on hold._

"_Could they at least play music recorded in the last century!"_

"_I don't know Peyt, I'll ask them."_

"_Daddy!"_

"_Hey honey, what's going on? What's the emergency?"_

"_Well I had a question. Why is my middle name Elizabeth?"_

"_Wow, I thought someone was dying. Um I guess your middle name is Elizabeth because we liked it and it fit well with Peyton, why?"_

"_So none of my relatives names are Elizabeth? There's no history to the name?"_

"_Peyton," Larry began sounding nervous. "What is going on?"_

"_Is my mom really dead? Because if she's not then you might want to come home."_

"_I'll be home on Wednesday."_

_-End of Flashback-_

"Wow, Peyton. So this woman who pretty much stalked you turned out to be your mother?"

"I didn't believe her at first, but my dad's reaction had guilty all over it. Why would he keep her from seeing me?"

"Maybe he was trying to protect you. I'm sure he was just looking out for you. Come on, lets get your mind off of this! Let's go shopping!"

"Wow, I think Brooke is starting to rub off on you," Peyton said as Haley pulled her out the door.

After a few hours of shopping, Peyton dropped Haley off at Lucas's. Haley decided she didn't want to stay alone and with Karen and Brooke both gone, Lucas really didn't want to be alone either.

"Hey stranger, Thanks for leaving me at the hospital today," Haley greeted Lucas who was concentrating on his videogame.

"Oh I'm sorry Hales. I was talking to Dan and it upset me and I had to get out of there. How did things with Nathan go?"

"I told him how I felt. That's all I can do I guess, but I'm tired of talking about it! Can we order some pizza or something?"

"I'm on it. Go set up some DVD's or something. I'll be in soon, we need to make up for lost quality best friend time," He excitedly grinned.

"Hey Hales, I gotta go pick up Deb and Nathan to go to the airport, you wanna go," Lucas asked a sleepy Haley bright and early the next morning.

"No, I don't think I should. I have to go open the café anyways."

"Alright. I'll stop by later," Lucas left with uncertainty.

Haley sighed and went to get dressed. When did her life become like this? Married at 17, currently living with her best friend, her parents out touring the country, and she needs to go run the café. She wasn't sure what to do. Finally, she just grabbed her keys and ran out the door, hoping she wasn't too late.

Lucas pulled up in Nathan's driveway and honked the horn. He didn't think it was a good idea for Haley not to come, but she made her own decisions. Deb and Nathan eventually came out, Nathan looking more eager than normal. When he opened up the car door, his face fell.

"What's wrong man?"

"Oh nothing, I guess it's just the reality of leaving for 3 months," Nathan quickly replied. It wasn't the real reason though. He had been hoping that Haley would come along. He was ready to get past everything and start fresh, together with his wife. 'Guess it'll have to wait until I get back.' He thought to himself and turned his CD player up to tune out the world.

Once they got to the airport and found Nathan's gate, it was time for tearful goodbyes. Well at least for Deb.

"I'll miss you Nathan. Call me everyday."

"Everyday mom? How about once a week?"

"Ok that'll work too. I love you sweetie."

"Love you too mom. I'll be back before you know it." Then it was Lucas's turn to say goodbye.

"So who am I supposed to beat during a game of 1 on 1 without you there?"

"Hey finally admitting you suck." Nathan chuckled. "Ok it's not like I'm moving to Florida permanently guys. I'll be back in a few months!"

"I know man, it just won't be the same this summer without you here."

"Don't you mean without Brooke here?"

"I thought we weren't going to mention her anymore."

"Right, sorry. Anyways I'll talk to you sometime alright?"

"Ok, have fun little brother," Lucas said as they hit fists.

"Alright, well I guess this it," Nathan said as Lucas and Deb walked away. He picked up his bag and headed towards the boarding gate. He was just about to get in line when he heard someone call his name out behind him.


	4. Familiar Faces

"Nathan!" He turned around after hearing someone call out his name.

"Mom?"

"Sorry sweetie, I forgot to give this to you." She handed him what appeared to be a present, wrapped and everything. "Put it in your carry on, and don't open it until you get there. I want it to be a surprise. Now have fun! Love you!"

"Thanks mom." For the second time, Nathan picked up his bags and headed for the boarding gate. This time, there were no interruptions.

Lucas finally made his way to the café late in the afternoon. It was dead there.

"Hey stranger," he greeted Haley with a cocky smile.

"No stranger than you," she stuck her tongue out at him. "Umm, how did things go at the airport."

"It was depressing, won't get to see him for the whole summer. I guess I'll miss—Oh I'm sorry Hales," he stopped mid-sentence noticing the look of hurt on her face. "I know this is hard on you too."

"No, not really," she replied back, a little too brightly.

"Haaaales, it's me Lucas, your best friend remember? Unless... there's someone else! I knew it! All these years you were just my friend because you pitied me! You have another best friend hiding out in Charlotte or something don't you?"

"Oh Luke, stop it!"

"I'm just playing, you know that. My point is that I'm your best friend. I know you probably better than I know myself. So that's why I know you're upset. Tell me what's going on."

"I screwed up. Plain and simple. I left him, but I came back. And he doesn't want me back. So now he is in Florida probably fucking anything that has a vagina."

"Wow Hales, jealous are we?" She threw a piece of leftover bread at him. "Gross, again, I'm sorry. If it makes you feel any better, I think he was disappointed when you didn't show up at the airport."

"I should get back to work, I'll see you later okay?"

"Are you going to be alright?"

"I'm a big girl Luke, I can take care of myself."

"If you're sure..."

"I'm sure. Now go," she said kind of harshly. Lucas had a look of surprise on his face, but he left reluctantly. Once he was gone, Haley took some dirty dishes to the back and then went into the bathroom. Immediately, she burst into tears. She couldn't take it anymore. The constant arguing with Nathan and yet the constant longing for Nathan. To kiss him again, to be one with him again, is all she ever wanted. She continued crying until she heard a knock on the door.

"Honey are you ok?" It was Rose, an older woman whom Karen had hired to help out at the café awhile ago.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'll be out in a second." She sniffled.

"Ok, well I just wanted to let you know there is someone here to see you," Rose gently said. Haley wiped her eyes and then walked out like nothing was wrong. She went back to the front counter.

"Peyton?"

"Hey Haley, what's up?"

"Just working.. what are you doing here?"

"There's this new club in Raleigh that is looking for strippers, I thought we could try out." Peyton laughed at the shocked and horrified expression on Haley's face. "Whoa Haley, I was just kidding." She continued laughing. "I just wanted to see how you were doing."

"Well, I'm married and my husband hates me so I'm living in my best friend's house while running his mom's café since my husband's mom is too busy because she is at the hospital looking after my father-in-law who is in a coma," she got it all out in breath.

"Dan?" Haley nodded. "Do I want to know?"

"Probably not. Doctor's say he'll be fine though."

"I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing." Peyton chuckled. "But how are you doing?"

"Been better."

"We've all been better. What's going on with you and Nathan?"

"Honestly Peyt, and you know I love you but I don't really want to talk about it anymore. Bottom line, I love him, he hates me."

"But underneath all that hate, you know he loves you."

Haley just shrugged at that. "Don't want to be a subject changer but have you seen your stalker mom lately?"

"Yes you do want to be a subject changer and no I haven't seen her. My dad's coming home tomorrow so I guess I'll find everything out then. I'm expecting the worst and I just wish Brooke was here. She would make some comment about my dad being hot just to gross me out and get my mind off the situation."

"Best friends are great like that. And you always have me, you know that right?"

"Of course I do Haley, I just don't want to have to pile my issues on top of yours."

"Your issues would be a nice distraction from mine." She laughed. And for once, Peyton could tell she meant it.

"Well I guess I better go. I have a strip due later and let's just say I'm a procrastinator. Talk to you later?"

"Sure, see ya!" Haley waved as the blonde cheerleader left.

"To Nathan, Love Mom & Company," Nathan read the tag on the package aloud. He had gotten into Florida just hours ago and was now in his room ready to open the package. "And company? What the hell does that mean?" He quickly ripped open the package and gasped at what was inside. "Nathan and Haley: Keeping The Faith," he once again read aloud. It was a photo album. Carefully he began turning the pages tearing up more and more at every page. Pictures from their wedding, to the reception, to parties, picnics, basketball games, and everything in between lied in the pages of the book. On the second to last page was a quote: _"He was the most popular boy in school. She was an outsider who had no desire to be a part of his world. When their paths crossed it was the last thing either one of them expected and the best thing that ever happened to both. She sees the good buried deep inside him and he can't force himself to not care about her."_ Below it was a picture of Nathan and Haley on the beach after a day spent with the gang.

_-Flashback-_

"_Nathan Scott if you throw me in the ocean so help me God I don't know what I'll do to you." Haley screamed when Nathan picked her up. It was a beautiful spring day and they, along with Lucas, Brooke, Peyton, Jake, and Tim had all gone down to the beach. _

"_What are you going to do?" He taunted as they got closer to the water._

"_Let's just say you won't be getting any sexual gratification from me for awhile."_

"_Hm.. I'll live," and with that, he threw her in the ocean._

"_Ahhhh! It's sooo cold! I hate you!" She screamed at him._

"_Yeah, but you love me," he replied as he began to walk towards her._

"_Yes I do," she said seductively pulling him close and at the last minute, dunked him under the water. "Gotcha!"_

"_You're gonna get it now!" It was his turn to scream at her._

"_You're going to have to catch me first!" Haley took off running back towards the sand. Nathan took off after her and it didn't take long before he was able to grab her and swing her around._

"_Nathan, stop!" She squealed. _

"_Come here," he said and began to kiss her. The kiss became heated after seconds neither wanting to stop, both forgetting where they were. Their passion for each other kept building until they were interrupted. _

"_Ok Britney and Kevin, enough with the PDA already," Brooke rolled her eyes. Haley blushed furiously and her and Nathan took a seat on the blanket that was spread out. Everyone began talking about their plans for the summer before senior year. Everything was going to be perfect. Nathan and Haley, Jake and Peyton, Brooke and well no one knew what was going on with her and Lucas, but there was some serious sexual tension between them. No one knew what was going on in Tim's love life either. He didn't do so well with the ladies. Everyone was supposed to be in Tree Hill this summer. Brooke defined it with the 3 S's: shop, swim, and sex. 'Only Brooke,' they had all thought. They continued talking and had fun the rest of the day. Eventually, Haley had fallen asleep with Nathan's arms wrapped protectively around her. And that's when the photo had been taken. A loving husband protecting his wife, the way it should be._

_-End of Flashback-_

As Nathan thought back to that day, he realized how everyone's plans turned upside down. Just weeks after that day on the beach, Haley left for the tour. Now Jake was gone chasing after Nikki, and Brooke was in California not knowing if she was coming back. Nathan had gotten back into High Flyers leaving Lucas, Peyton, and Tim alone for the summer. Until Haley came back. That's when it all became too much for Nathan. The tears began to fall. Then his roommate walked in and he immediately stopped. Nathan had already met his roommate, Mike. He seemed like a cool guy, could have gotten worse for a roommate he thought.

"Dude, are you alright?" Mike sincerely asked.

"Yeah, I'll be fine." Nathan didn't want to meet his eyes, did not want to show evidence of his weakness.

"What do you have there," he inquired, pointing to the photo album in Nathan's hands.

"Oh it's just something my mom sent me, nothing important."

"Whatever it is, must be pretty important to get you this worked up over it."

"If you don't mind, I'd like to be alone right now, I have a phone call I need to make."

"Sure man, just let me know if you ever need anything." Mike headed back out the door, giving Nathan some privacy. Nathan picked up the phone and dialed the number waiting for someone to pick up, someone that would have answers.

"Hello?"

"Hey mom, it's me."

"Oh it's so good to hear from you Nathan! Did you get there alright?"

"Yeah everything was fine. There's something else I wanted to ask you about."

"I'm guessing you opened up your present?"

"Yeah," he sighed. "What does mom and company mean? And where did you get all these pictures?"

"First of all, don't pretend like I don't know about the stash of pictures you have hidden under your bed. I used some of those, some that Karen had given me. I called Haley's parents and Haley's sister Taylor even sent me some pictures."

"Taylor helped?"

"Yeah, she said she would do anything to help and that if you guys couldn't make it, she wouldn't have anything to believe in anymore."

"Wow," Nathan was speechless.

"That's not all though. Lucas had some pictures, as did Brooke and Peyton. Peyton is also the one who did the drawing."

"Drawing?"

"The drawing on the very last page of the book." Oh, he hadn't made it that far yet. He turned the page and there was a sketched portrait of Nathan and Haley's wedding picture. At the top it said, "People always leave." And at the bottom it said, "But if they love you, they'll come back." Nathan couldn't help himself and once again began to cry.

"Aww sweetie, it's ok." Deb tried to comfort her broken son.

"I'm fine, I'm fine.. So what's with the Mom and Company on the bag?"

"Well that's basically everyone that helped. Everyone that contributed pictures had something to say about you two. Everyone has such faith in you all. Even Whitey contributed. That one picture of you and Haley at the basketball game was a picture he gave me. He said to me, 'Deb, these young'ns remind me of myself and Camilla back in the day. They put everything else aside for love.' " Nathan laughed at the voice she made when imitating Whitey. "You see sweetie, everyone believes in you, even when you don't. And I know Haley loves you, but you already knew that. You guys took a chance by getting married and you knew going into it, it wasn't going to be easy, but you did it anyways, out of love. I think it's time to look past all the hurting and move on, together."

"Wow, um thanks mom. Listen, I gotta go so I'll talk to you later."

"Think about what I said! Love you."

"Love you too, bye." After he hung up, he carefully placed the book on the stand next to the bed. No matter how he felt about Haley in that moment, one thing will always be true, they had many good times together. Nathan didn't have anything until 6:00 that evening, so he decided to take a walk to clear his mind.

It was a gorgeous Florida day. The water was clear, and the sand was white. 'How much would Haley want to be here right now,' he thought to himself. Little did he know, she was thinking the same thing.

"I wish I was in Florida," Haley sighed, saying it to no one in particular.

"But then you wouldn't get to see me anymore," a voice came up behind her.

"Karen! What are you doing back so soon?" The petite women hugged.

"Well, Andy's mother is doing great, better than expected. He'll be able to come back within a week if Dan doesn't try anything, so he told me to go back home where my life was."

"That's great. And you won't have to worry about Dan right now. From what Lucas told me, someone tried to set the dealership on fire, with him in it, and now he is lying in a coma in the hospital."

"Wow, have you seen Deb?"

"We went to the hospital a couple days ago and she seemed to be doing okay. The doctors say he'll be fine when he wakes up."

"I see, I guess that's good for her. So what's this about you wanting to be in Florida? Tree Hill isn't good enough for you anymore?" She chuckled.

"It's Nathan. He went to High Flyers." She sighed.

"Aww Haley, come here," Karen hugged her again. "It'll all work out." Then Haley's cell phone rang. "You get that, I'll be in the kitchen if you need me."

"Thanks Karen." Haley pulled out her phone. "Hello?"

"Hey, it's me."

"Nathan? Is everything okay? Why are you calling?" She figured something was wrong, why else would he call?

"Can't a husband just want to hear his wife's voice?"

"Oh, um well I suppose. Unless that husband is still mad at his wife." She almost said it like a question, hopefully waiting for the answer she wanted all along.

"He's not." Haley practically screamed with excitement. "He wants his wife to come visit him though."

"Oh Nathan I don't know. I have to work and Karen just got back, and I don't want to leave your mom alone while she's dealing with Dan, and would it be okay? I mean are we okay? Just like that? And what— Oh sorry, I'm rambling."

"It's okay Hales. I guess it isn't fair for me to ask you to pick up and leave right now with everything going on. And maybe we don't have all our issues resolved, but we need to do it face to face, not over the phone."

"Of course. Well there are some customers here and I have to get back to work, call me later?" She asked hopefully.

"Sure, I love you," Nathan said with such sincerity in his voice. Haley practically melted. This is what she had been waiting for all along, and although she would rather have been with him in this moment instead of over the phone, she'll take what she can get.

"I love you too." After they hung up, Haley was in such a good mood, practically skipping around the café. After her shift was over, she decided to get Peyton. She couldn't live with Lucas forever and Peyton could paint the walls of her apartment and do the whole artistic thing which Haley could not do.

After Nathan got off the phone with Haley he went back to his room to get ready for tonight. There was an opening dinner and meeting. He showered, got dressed, and headed down, barely making it in time. He was in such a rush he didn't notice the waiter he nearly ran over.

"Whoa watch it buddy! Nathan? How's it going man?" He stuck out his hand.

"Jake! What are you doing here?"

"Well, I'm down here trying to get Jenny back. It's only a matter of time before I have sole custody of her because Nikki lied in her testimony. Until then though, I gotta make some money to keep afloat."

"That's great about Jenny. I know Peyton was crushed after you left. Are you going back to Tree Hill once you get her?"

"I wouldn't go anywhere else," Jake grinned. "I miss Peyton, and all of you guys. Hopefully the summer won't be too ruined."

"She'll be so excited man. Anyways I gotta go to this dinner thing, but just give me a call if you need anything!"

"Ok, thanks Nathan. See you later." With that, Jake went back to his work and Nathan headed to the dinner. 'How weird is it to see Jake here? The whole gang will be back in Tree Hill except for me. Some summer this is turning out to be,' he thought to himself as he took a seat next to Mike. "And so the fun begins," he whispered.

What parts did you like/didn't like? Suggestions are welcome!

**Bet you all thought that would be Haley at the airport, didn't you? Yeah I wanted it to be her too but I had to drag it out a little longer. It's killing me though, making Naley argue, so I had to have some goodness in their with that phone call, it doesn't mean everything is peachy though! Was the Jake thing okay? I was really at a loss to figure out how to get him back, but I think I've got Brooke figured out so maybe we'll see her soon! Again, I'm not sure about what I want to have happen with Dan. I think I know who I'm going to go with on killing him though. I want to start straying from the other character's storylines and start making it more Naley. Maybe after senior year and they all go to college? I don't know but it's hard putting all these storylines together and trying to make it as Naley as possible. Hopefully some fluff coming up, no drama, just the gang. Maybe a love interest for Tim? Who knows? If you have any suggestions, please leave a comment. I get stuck sometimes and could always use your help.**

**And thanks to everyone who leaves comments, I really do appreciate them. Your support motivates me to write! When I know people are reading, I want to get chapters out quicker so you all have something. The next few weeks though, I don't know how much I'll be writing. I have this class thing on the weekdays and its time consuming. I'm trying to go for a chapter a day but it might be longer, so bear with me. Hopefully I can get caught up this weekend and write a lot so I can post chapters without having to finish writing them in 10 minutes.**

**Wow, what a long author's note! Again, comments/suggestions are appreciated and thanks everyone for reading!**

**-Nicole**


	5. Calling for Help

It was the weekend. That meant basketball, parties and drama. Or at least that's what it used to mean before everyone's lives got turned upside down. This weekend though, Haley decided she was going to continue fixing up the apartment. Peyton had done a fantastic job decorating the place and Haley had bought furniture to replace what was gone. She had a lot of extra money left over from the tour, so at least one good thing came out of her leaving. She was really hoping that keeping herself busy would keep her mind off of Nathan. After that last conversation, she couldn't stop thinking about where they stood. Her thoughts were interrupted by the opening of a door and a tear stained Peyton standing there.

"Peyton?" Haley was alarmed by the distraught person in front of her. "I've been wondering where you were since I haven't seen you since Tuesday! What's wrong?"

"Everything! My whole life is a lie," she sobbed.

"It can't all be a lie Peyton. Sit down, tell me what happened."

_-Flashback-_

_Peyton sat there in front of her father and this Elizabeth person. "So what do you guys have to tell me?"_

"_Listen sweetie, I want to tell you that I love you and I did this in your best interest," her father began._

"_Just tell me already!" She screamed already knowing what he was going to say._

"_Elizabeth and I dated back in high school, around your age. And well, things happen and she ended up pregnant with you."_

"_Peyton, I want you to know that I was young and careless and I didn't know how to be a mother," Elizabeth looked at her with pleading eyes._

"_About a year after you were born," her father continued. "She took off. She said she was going to the grocery store and she never came back. I was heartbroken. Until I met Anna. We began dating and had been seeing each other for nearly 2 years when Elizabeth came back. She wanted to be a part of your life. I wouldn't let her. There was a custody battle and since she had taken off, I won. And I never saw her again until, well now. Later, Anna and I married, and you know the rest."_

"_Why keep her from me? Why make me believe that my mother was dead! I cried for months thinking that the woman who gave me life had died and she was alive all along? How could you?"_

"_Peyton, I was looking out for your best interest. I promise you."_

"_No, you were looking out for yourself. And what about you Elizabeth, why did you take off?"_

"_I was young. I had so much life left to live and I didn't want to be tied down with a child."_

"_So I was the obstacle keeping you from your life?"_

"_No, never. I just wanted to explore life more and I—"_

"_And you left my dad to raise me by himself? I can't believe you, either of you. I don't care what mistakes you made in the past or the present, but because of your decisions, I was deprived of my own mother and thought that my real mother was dead. Years of crying and mourning, and my mom is sitting right in front of me. I can't do this anymore." Peyton then stormed out of the house and drove around. She went to the graveyard to visit her so called dead mother's grave and kept asking, 'Why, why me?' She eventually went back home, just long enough to grab some clothes. She ended up staying with a cousin for a few days until she ended up at Haley's apartment._

_-End of Flashback-_

Haley hugged the broken girl. "Peyton, I'm so sorry. But at least you know now, right?"

"I guess, I just can't believe they lied to me all this time."

"I'm sorry," Haley wasn't sure what else to say. "Listen, you can stay here as long as you need to."

"Oh, I don't want to be an imposition."

"You won't be, really! Honestly, I'm glad for the company. It's lonely all by myself here in this apartment. And now it'll be like an endless sleepover! Like the one we had that weekend the guys went to Charolette and—" Peyton began crying even harder at this. "What is it Peyton?"

"I miss Brooke, and even Anna, and especially Jake. But mostly Brooke. She was there for me when my, I guess my stepmom, died. If she knew about this, she would run all the way back here and probably kill my father for all the pain I went through."

Haley had just thought of a brilliant idea, but didn't tell Peyton yet, just in case. "Maybe you should call her, make you feel better?"

"I tried, her phone is off. But thanks for listening Haley, you're a great friend."

"It's no problem, why don't you try and get some sleep, you probably need some!" As Peyton retreated down to Haley's bedroom, Haley called Lucas.

"Lucas Scott, local pimp, at your service."

"Lucas! Is that how you always answer your phone!"

"What Hales, it's called Caller ID!"

"Oh. Well anyways, I called for Peyton. She's got a lot going on now at home and I was wondering if you have any of Brooke's numbers." Luckily, he did and Haley called them all until she was able to finally reach Brooke.

"Hello?"

"Tigger!"

"Tutorgirl! Is that you?"

"Yes! Hey Brooke!"

"Ah! I miss you!"

"I miss you too. Everyone here does. It's kind of why I'm calling."

"Look, if it's about Lucas…"

"It's not, don't worry, but we need to talk about that later! It's Peyton, actually."

"Peyton! What's wrong?" Haley went into the whole story with Peyton's stalker mom and eventually how she had broken down and crashed at Haleys. "Oh. My. God. And my parents are keeping me here against my will while my best friend is dealing with all of this!"

"Pretty much. Is there anyway you can come back, at least for a couple of days? All she talks about is how much she misses you and wish you were here and I just don't know what else to do."

"I'll see what I can do. All I can say, is just be there for her. I don't know if or when I'll be able to come back, so just be the friend that she needs right now, which I'm sure you've already done. Other than that, there's not much else we can do. Ok subject change, how are things with Tutorhusband?"

"Not so good. He was really bitter when I came back. I really hurt him when I left, but I kept trying to talk to him and we always ended up arguing. He left for High Flyers a week ago though, and something must have changed when he got there because he called me and said he wasn't mad, but ready to move on together. I don't know what to do. I won't even get to see him again until school starts."

"For a tutor Haley, you sure can be dumb," Brooke giggled meaning it only as a joke. "Totally kidding, but I think you need to go down to Florida. See him, take Peyton and Lucas with you to get their minds off of everything. And maybe when you get back, I'll be able to come home!"

"I don't know Brooke. I don't know if he wants me there."

"At least think about it! I know you'll do the right thing. I gotta go now, my parents are dragging me to yet another dinner with some clients. If this isn't excitement, I don't know what is," she sighed sarcastically.

"Aww Tigger! It'll be okay. Just work on getting your ass back home before I have to kidnap you!"

"That might not be such a bad idea.. let's work on that plan Hales.."

"Brooke!"

"Ok, I'm kidding. Talk to you later, let me know how Peyton is doing, alright?"

"Okay, bye!" Haley hung up the phone and called Lucas back.

"Hello?"

"I need a pimp."

"Hales! What are you talking about?"

She sighed. He could be so clueless. "Nevermind. Pack a bag, call your mom, we're going to Florida!"


	6. Reuniting

"Haley, I can't believe we're actually doing this," Peyton exclaimed while they were waiting for the plane to take off. Just hours ago she had been crying in Haley's bedroom, now she was on a plane to Florida. Karen allowed Lucas to go to protect his girls and generously paid for airfare so no one would have to drive. "It's all on Andy," she grinned. Then he took Peyton home to help her pack quickly, so she didn't have to spend more than enough time in that house. Now they were all at the airport anxiously waiting what was in store for them.

"I can't believe it either! But what if Nathan doesn't want me after I show up? What if he becomes more bitter and takes back everything he said? What if—"

"Hales, you'll be fine," Lucas reassured her. And she hoped to God he was right.

Nathan had gotten back from another exhausting practice. It had only been a week and he was more worn out then ever. He debated calling Haley, he needed to hear her voice. Finally, he broke down and called her, only to get her voicemail. Then Mike walked into the room.

"Hey man, want to go to this new club I heard about?"

"I don't know Mike, I'm so tired and I just want to sleep."

"No you just want to mope over the girl you left behind. Come on get your ass up and shower and get ready! You're going if I have to drag you out of here!"

"Alright, Alright! Give me 20 minutes!"

It was nearly 11pm and the plane had just landed in Florida. Haley was practically jumping up and down with excitement. It was like Christmas morning when a child couldn't wait to open their presents, she couldn't wait to see Nathan.

"Come on guys lets go get our bags and get out of here!" She ran off to the baggage claim.

"Wow," It was all Peyton could get out.

"Yeah," Lucas nodded his head in agreement. "I just hope she doesn't get crushed."

In record time, thanks to Haley, they had gotten their bags and hailed a cab. They went to the hotel that Nathan was staying at. Haley marched right up to the front desk. "Excuse me, could you please tell me what room Nathan Scott is in?"

"I'm sorry ma'm we're not allowed to give out that information." It was a younger man at the desk. "It's against policy."

"Excuse me," Peyton came over. "We would really appreciate if you could just tell Nathan's wife here where she is staying."

"Ma'm, I'm sorry, but I can't give out that—" Peyton leaned over the counter and ambushed him with her lips.

"Now would you be so kind as to give her a key?"

"Umm.. Sure and uh here's my number, just in case you need anything." Peyton took it but rolled her eyes as they walked away.

"Oh my gosh Peyton I can't believe you did that," Haley exclaimed, clearly horrified. "We could have just waited for Nathan to come down."

"Yeah, but what fun would that have been? Now come on you two, lets go find loverboy."

"Go on up, I'll get us some food," Lucas said as he watched the energetic girls walk away.

Haley and Peyton finally made it up to Nathan's room and knocked, but got no answer so they let themselves in. It was obvious no one was there so they sat down and waited for him to get back. Haley got bored quickly and started to look around the room when she came across the photo album still lying on the stand. "What is this," she wondered aloud and began to look at it. Her reaction was the same as Nathan, tears. She put the book down and ran into the bathroom sobbing, locking the door behind her.

"What happened," Lucas questioned Peyton as he walked in with the food.

"She started looking at the book and began crying, then ran into the bathroom."

"Book? What book?" Peyton picked up the one she was talking about. "Ohhh, that book." Suddenly he understood. "I'm guessing Nathan never told her about it," he sighed. "What do we do now? She can't stay locked up in the bathroom forever." It was at that moment Nathan and Mike walked in.

"Lucas? Peyton? What are you guys doing here?"

"Umm I'll come back later," Mike exited as quickly as he had entered.

"Well?" Nathan demanded. Then he heard her. Her sobs coming from the bathroom. "Haley?" He mouthed. They both simply nodded. He went over to the bathroom and knocked softly on the door. "Hales? Can I come in?" Surprisingly, she opened the door and let him in. "Haley what's wrong?"

"That book!" She screamed. "All the memories that I practically threw away!"

"I thought we were past all of this? I thought we were going to try to move on?"

"I am. It's just I keep getting painful reminders of me leaving you!"

"Haley, listen. I was upset and bitter when you left, you know that. But I still loved you. I was upset and bitter when you came back, and even when we argued, I still loved you. And right now while you're crying on the probably unsanitary bathroom floor, I love you. And that won't change. Yeah, we'll have our issues and we'll have our arguments, but I think that if the love didn't exist, we wouldn't be fighting, because we would have nothing to grasp for. So come on Hales, meet me halfway here?"

"So just like that you're going to put it all behind us and you're just going to—" She was cut off by Nathan's lips. When they broke apart he whispered, "Yes. Or at least I'm willing to. I might not be able to completely forget, but I'm willing to try."

Lucas and Peyton were still standing in the bedroom waiting for Nathan and Haley to come out.

"What do you think is going on in there," Lucas wondered aloud.

"They're probably having hot, wild, animalistic sex," Peyton shrugged. Lucas's eyes nearly popped out of his head causing Peyton to laugh. "I'm just kidding, chill out!"

"Ok good because thinking of my best friend and brother's sex life is a little too much for me to handle." At that moment, Nathan and Haley walked out of the bathroom, hand in hand.

"Aww you're just depressed that your best friend is getting laid and you aren't," Haley mocked in a childish voice. Lucas turned bright red, "Hey! You don't know that." Haley shot him a look. "Ok, so maybe you do. Look its been a long day, why don't we go down to our room. I'm sure Nathan has to get up for practice or something tomorrow anyways."

"Actually Luke, you guys go, Haley can stay here if she wants," Nathan offered and Haley nodded.

"Alright, let's go Peyton," and the two left. Immediately Haley jumped on Nathan kissing him again. She tried to deepened the kiss, but Nathan suddenly pulled away.

"What is it," she wanted to know.

"It's just," he panted, out of breath. "We're moving too fast. I don't want to rush into anything."

"Alright, if that's what you want," she agreed. Honestly, she wanted to take things slow as well. "Let's just sleep." And for the first time in months, they crawled into bed together, Nathan's arm wrapped protectively across Haley just the way it should be.

At 6am the next morning, Nathan's alarm went off. "Nathannn," Haley mumbled.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he kissed her forehead. "Morning workout, can't miss it. Go back to sleep, I'll be back in a couple of hours."

Just an hour after he left, Haley's sleep was interrupted once again by a knock on the door. "Just come in," she screamed and in excitedly came Peyton.

"Get up sleepyhead."

"Um Peyton, it's almost 7:30 in the morning. What time zone are you in?"

"The kind that wants details. So how was it?"

"How was what?"

"The makeup sex!"

"I wouldn't know, we didn't have any."

"Didn't have any! What do you mean?"

"Um we didn't have sex? He wanted to take things slow, and honestly so do I. I don't want to rush into anything and eventually have my heart broken. Now if you don't mind, I would really like to go back to sleep. I'll come get you later and we can go shopping or something okay?"

"I'm holding you to that! See ya later." And Peyton left, leaving Haley to finally get some rest.

Peyton went back to the hotel room she and Lucas were staying in. Surprisingly, he was already up and drinking coffee. "And where did you go so early this morning?"

"Just went to visit Haley."

"How are they?"

"I think everything is going to be okay. But what I really want to talk to you about is Brooke."

"Look, I don't know what she's told you, but—"

"I haven't even spoken to her since she's left. Shocking, I know. But what I also know is that she likes you Lucas. She's just afraid to let her guard down. She's afraid that the three of us will be pulled back into the drama."

"And we won't. At least, I don't want too, and I'm sure you guys don't either. I told her how I felt. Maybe I told her in the wrong way, but at least she knows, it's up to her now."

"Well I guess there isn't much we can do. I still can't believe she's gone."

"Yeah, it's hard to imagine life without her, guess we'll just have to deal with it," he sighed.

"Okay, I'm tired of this moping, we're in Florida for Christ's sake! Let's go to the beach!" Peyton pulled Lucas out the door.

Nathan got back to his room at about 9:30 and was incredibly tired. He stripped down to his boxers and climbed back into bed with Haley, not having to get back up until 2. He wished he was on vacation and not at this camp. He looked down at the girl in his arms and realized, 'This is why I didn't want to come. And she's worth it.' He closed his eyes as sleep overtook him.

Haley finally stirred around 10:15 and was confused as to where she was. Then it hit her. Just 24 hours ago she had been in Tree Hill and now she was in Florida wrapped in her husband's arms. Not that she minded of course. She still wasn't sure how things would be once they got back to Tree Hill. They still had issues that needed resolved. But for now, Haley was happy, and she wanted to stay in that moment, at least for now. She reached up and kissed Nathan lightly. "Hey you, wake up." Nathan just tightened his grip on Haley harder. "Come on Nate, get up."

"Ok, ok I'm up! Aren't you impatient?"

"No I'm just hungry! Can we please go get something to eat?"

"Sure, let me just throw some clothes on really quick." Haley hadn't even noticed he was only in his boxers. She wasn't the biggest fan of basketball but she did love the shape it put him in. After a few minutes of staring, she realized she was still wearing the same clothes as yesterday.

"Nathan, my bag is still down in Lucas and Peyton's room. Come get me, when you're ready."

When Nathan finally met up with Haley, they walked down to the restaurant at the hotel for lunch. After ordering, an awkward silence fell upon them. They were married, things should be awkward right? "So how have things been in Tree Hill since I've been gone," Nathan broke the silence with his question.

"It's been pretty boring, especially without Brooke there." They both chuckled. "Peyton and I have been working on the apartment, she definitely has a talent for interior design. And it's really keeping her mind off of Brooke and Jake not being there."

"Jake!" Nathan practically spit out his drink.

"Yeah, Jake, that tall guy with the brown hair, plays basketball with you? Remember him?"

"No, that's not it. You'll never believe this, I ran into him when I first got down here, like literally ran into him."

"Oh my God, no way! Where?"

"I had this dinner thing I had to go to for basketball. I was running late as usual and wasn't watching where I was going and ran into this waiter. The waiter turned out to be Jake! He said he was down here trying to get Jenny back from Nikki and things are looking good for him."

"That's great! We totally have to set him and Peyton up!"

"Definitely, but for now, let's eat!" Nathan said eagerly as the food was set down in front of him.

Later that afternoon while Nathan was at practice, Haley went shopping with Peyton like she promised.

"Hales you have got to try that purple one on," Peyton pointed to a purple bikini on the rack.

"I don't know Peyton, it's kind of skimpy, don't you think?"

"And your point is?"

"It's not me!"

"Oh come on, we're on vacation, live a little! Nathan would go crazy if he saw you in that! And it would make him jealous when he saw other guys checking you out!"

"It would make him jealous, wouldn't it?" Peyton nodded. "Ok, I'll try it on, but that doesn't mean I'll like it."

As they were walking back towards the dressing rooms, Lucas ran into the store. "Finally," he exclaimed. "I've been looking all over for you!" He was clearly out of breath from running.

"What's going on Luke," a puzzled Haley asked.

"They caught the person who attempted Dan's murder."


	7. Coming Home

Peyton and Haley stood there with their mouths open.

"Ok you guys can get your jaws off the floor now," Lucas broke the silence. "I haven't even told you who it is yet!"

"Well?" Peyton and Haley both screamed.

"You are not going to believe this…" Lucas began.

_-Flashback-_

"_Hello?"_

"_Hey Lucas, it's me.'_

"_Hey mom! What's going on?"_

"_Well, I have some news. And I'm not really sure what to think of it yet myself."_

"_What's the news?"_

"_They've caught the person who attempted to murder Dan. It was Jules."_

"_Jules? As in Keith's Jules? As in the woman who stood him up at the altar?"_

"_Yes, that Jules. Apparently, they found her cell phone on the floor of the burned dealership. They called her in, and she openly admitted it saying how it was time for someone to bring Dan down or something like that."_

"_Wow…" Lucas was speechless for a moment. "How's Keith doing with this?"_

"_I honestly don't know. He said he was going to go see her but I haven't talked to him since."_

"_Only in Tree Hill," was all Lucas had left to say. "Thanks for calling mom. Is Dan still in a coma?"_

"_Yes, and he is expected to wake up any day now, so we'll see. How are things with my almost daughter and her husband?" Karen had always considered Haley to be her daughter. The two had always been close._

"_I think everything is going to be okay," he paused. "For now." He let out a sigh._

"_That's all we can hope for I guess. I should probably let you go, see you when you get home, love you."_

"_Love you too, mom. Bye."_

_-End of Flashback-_

So maybe Lucas didn't share that last part of the conversation with Haley and Peyton, but it didn't matter. He was still waiting for their response to Jules being the murderer.

"Oh my God," Peyton finally said. "I guess she had reason to though." They all laughed at this.

"I can't believe it," Haley said when her phone started ringing. "Be right back guys." She walked over to a secluded area of the store. "Hello?"

"What are you wearing?"

"No way Nathan, I'm in a public place."

"Fine," he pouted. "So what public place are you at exactly?"

"The Strip, doing a little shopping. What's going on?"

"Just got out of practice, wanted to see if you all wanted to meet for dinner. I called Jake and he's going to meet us there."

"Oh my God, that's great! Ok we'll meet you there in say 20 minutes?"

"Sure, love you."

"Love you too." How good does it feel to say that, she thought after she hung up the phone. How perfect everything was right now. Getting along with her husband, vacationing in Florida, shopping with her best friend, life was great. "Ok you guys, let's go! We're meeting Nathan in 20 minutes and Peyton, do we have a surprise for you," Haley said when she walked back over to where Lucas and Peyton were standing. They purchased their items and headed down to the restaurant. They were directed to the table that Nathan and Jake were sitting at. Jake had his back to them, and they couldn't tell who it was just yet.

"Haley, who is that guy with Nathan," Peyton asked.

"Why don't you ask him yourself," Haley smirked and tapped Jake on the back.

"JAKE!" Peyton screamed and burst into tears, holding onto him like there was no tomorrow.

"It's okay Peyt, I'm here now." He stroked her hair, then turned to their 3 friends. "We're just going to go outside." They all simply nodded and sat down.

"So," Lucas began. "How's camp going Nathan?"

"It's good. Definitely learning new things, but it's a lot of work, and not really how I planned to spend my summer, you know?"

"Yeah, but it's a great opportunity, you couldn't pass it up."

"He did once," Haley cut in. Neither Nathan nor Lucas knew what to say. "Oh come on you guys, it's not like some hidden secret. We all knew that."

"Yeah I guess," Nathan agreed. "And as great as Florida is, I kind of miss being in Tree Hill. Everyone's there. And I'm stuck here."

"We miss you too man," Lucas said with a sigh. "It hasn't been the same since you left."

"Yes, definitely lonely," Haley agreed and looked up at Nathan with sad eyes. How she missed his intense blue eyes. Nathan leaned down and kissed her. Lucas was happy for them, but he could only take so much.

"Ok guys," he said and Nathan and Haley broke apart. "Oh Nate, did you talk to your mom yet?"

"She left a message saying to call her and that it was important, but I didn't yet. Why?"

"They caught Dan's murderer."

"No way, who?"

"Jules." Nathan gasped.

"Are you serious?"

"Yeah, she admitted it and everything, said Dan had it coming."

"Well, we both said that too," Nathan chuckled. Jake and Peyton finally reappeared.

"Hey, you're back," Haley said brightly. They smiled and joined in the conversation. 'This is the way this summer was supposed to be,' Haley thought to herself as the 5 friends enjoyed each other's company. 'Only one person is missing…'

Later that night, Nathan and Haley went down to one of the hot tubs to relax and talk. "Why did you send me annulment papers," Haley blurted out. "Were you going to give up that easily?"

"Annulment papers? I never sent you any. Dan tried to get me to sign some, but I refused."

"But Dan came to one of my shows and handed me the papers with your signature!"

"Bastard! I knew he was up to no good. I wish he would stop trying to control my life. Why did you come back then? If you thought I was trying to get our marriage annulled, why bother coming back?"

"Because our marriage is worth fighting for. And if I lost you, I don't know what I'd do," she started to get teary-eyed.

"Yeah, same for me too. That's why it killed me when you left without even a goodbye, or a note, or an 'I love you.' You left nothing."

"It's not like you gave me a fair choice Nathan. You asked me to choose between the 2 things I love most in this world, you and music. It just wasn't fair."

"Haley, I was so scared I would lose you. I didn't know what else to do. All I could think about was you kissing Chris."

"It was a mistake. He kissed me and I pulled away. He tried it again one night before a concert and I kneed him in the balls."

"Way to go Hales! He got what he deserved."

"Speaking of deserving things, how do you really feel about Dan?"

"I cannot stand him. He kept me and Lucas apart all these years, tried to break you and me up, went to the point of illegally signing my name on annulment papers, but yet he's still my father, you know? As much I want him to die, I don't want him to."

"I understand. That's how I am with Taylor. We don't always see eye to eye, but I love her just because she's my sister."

"Yeah, that 'family bond.' It'll always be there. And how great were things with Jake and Peyton tonight?"

"I know, I'm so happy for them. I can't wait to find out what happened when they went outside."

"Aren't you a nosy one!"

"Yes, but I'm your nosy one," Haley grinned as she kissed him.

"That you are," he agreed as they cuddled under the starlit sky.

The next day, while once again Nathan had practice, Haley and Peyton were shopping.

"So Peyton, what happened with you and Jake last night when you left the restaurant when we first got there?"

"Wow Hales, I was in serious shock. I can't believe he's really here. He pretty much just held me and told me how everything would be okay. He told me about Jenny and how well things were going and that he'll be back in Tree Hill soon. And he asked me to stay with him down here until this thing with Nikki was over."

Haley dropped the shirt she was holding. "Oh my god, what did you say," she squealed as she bent down to pick the shirt up.

"Yes of course, but is that okay? Do you mind?"

"Of course I don't mind! Aw, I'm so happy for you Peyton. Things are starting to look up."

"Yeah, it's great. Oh wow, I'm definitely getting this skirt," Peyton headed back towards the dressing room.

After shopping, Haley went up to Nathan's room to wait until Nathan got back. She fell asleep watching TV. Just minutes later, Nathan walked in and saw her laying there. 'She's beautiful,' he thought. 'But then again, she always is. What did I do to deserve her? She could do so much better than me.' He pulled the covers down while trying not to disturb her and crawled in. "I never doubted that you would come back. Words can't describe how much I love you," he said to her before falling into a deep sleep. What he didn't know was that she was really awake and listening. "I love you too Nathan," she whispered and fell back asleep, the two of them just holding onto each other, never wanting to let go.

"I can't believe we're leaving today," Hales cried as she hugged Peyton at the airport.

"I'll be back in Tree Hill soon, call me everyday," the blonde said back.

"Of course, would you expect any less," the girls laughed.

Lucas and Nathan hugged. "Don't go all superstar on us before you come home," Lucas joked.

"I won't man, don't worry. Just watch after Hales for me, I worry about her."

"Always do. Good luck." Then it was time for Nathan and Haley's goodbye. Haley was already in tears.

"I'll miss you Nate," she said hysterically as she cried on his shirt.

"I'll miss you too, but I'll be back before you know it!"

"I know, but it won't come soon enough. I love you," she said then kissed him passionately.

"I love you too. Call me when you get home."

"Alright, bye Nathan," she tearfully waved goodbye as she walked away.

"Are you going to be okay Hales," Lucas hugged her as they were walking towards the boarding gate.

"No," she cried and all Lucas could do was comfort her. 'Only 2 more months to go,' he thought.

Hours later, when they finally got home, Haley went straight to the apartment. Sleep sounded so good right now. When she opened the door however, she realized she wouldn't get to sleep anytime soon.

"Surprise," the brunette yelled as she jumped off the couch.

"Tigger!" The girls hugged. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm back for a few days to visit my best friends ever! You're here, but where is goldilocks?"

"Oh," Haley wasn't sure how to say this. "Actually, you know how you told me to go down to Florida? Well, I did and I took Peyton and Lucas with me."

"And how did things go with loverboy?"

"Good, things are definitely better. I already miss him."

"So what does this have to do with where Peyton is?"

"Well when Nathan first got down to Florida, he ran into Jake who was working as a waiter at this restaurant. We got the two together and he asked Peyton to stay with him until he could come back to Tree Hill. It shouldn't be long before they come back though since Nikki lied in her testimony, Jake should get Jenny soon."

"Finally, the bitch we call Nikki loses! It kind of sucks that I won't get to see Peyton though," Brooke pouted. "But at least she's with Jake, even though I'm sure she missed me more than him!"

"I'm sure Brooke," Haley laughed. "So how long are you here for? What do you want to do?"

"I'm here for like 2 days. And what do I want to do? I think you know me well enough that you shouldn't have to ask."

"Hmm…" Haley pretended to think for a minute, then grabbed her keys. "Ok, let's go!" The girls headed to the mall.

After yet another afternoon of shopping for Haley, they headed back to the apartment with DVD's and ice cream in hand.

"So Tutorgirl, which one are we watching first?"

"10 Things I Hate About You, now pass me the butter pecan!" The girls watched movies all night and talked the usual girl talk. Haley never realized how much she missed Brooke and couldn't even begin to imagine what Peyton went through. She also realized Lucas didn't know Brooke was back and figured it was a touchy subject, so she didn't bring it up. That didn't stop her from starting to form a plan to get them to speak to each other though. 'What an influence Brooke is,' she said to herself when she realized how scheming she was being.

Early the next morning, the girls were interrupted by someone knocking at the door. Haley got up to get it.

"Hey Hales," Lucas said as he walked in. "Have any plans for today? Thought maybe we could do something?" Haley was about to respond when Brooke walked in the room.

"Who is it Haley," she asked as she rubbed her eyes.

"Brooke," Lucas gasped.

"Lucas." Neither were sure what to do next.

"I'm going to leave you two alone," Haley quickly retreated to her bedroom to call Nathan. She got his voicemail though.

"Hey Nathan, it's me, just thinking of you. You'll never believe this but Brooke's here for a couple of days! And then Lucas came over this morning so now I'm hiding in the bedroom trying to avoid what could possibly turn into World War 3. Call and save me! Love you!" She sighed as she hung up the phone. She missed him already, how was she going to go 2 more months without him?

Back out in the living room, things were still silent. "What are you doing here," Lucas finally asked.

"Haley called me about Peyton. She was worried about her and thought I could help. So I come down here for a couple of days and she's frolicking in Florida with Jake. I just miss her so much," Brooke began to cry.

"Aw Brooke, it's okay," Lucas gave her a hug. "I'll always be here if you need me."

"About that, why did you kiss me before I left?"

"I told you why, I've always loved you."

"But what about Peyton?"

"Peyton was an illusion. Something that I thought I wanted when I was scared to go after what I really wanted, which was you."

"But why save those pictures? Shouldn't the fact of knowing what you did be enough to remind you?"

"I guess, but the pictures made it more real. It's like I had the proof in my hands."

"I don't know what else to say," Brooke sighed.

"Just say you'll be with me, give us another chance."

"I don't know if I can Luke."

"Just try," he leaned in to kiss her. She was reluctant at first but eventually gave in and kissed him back. Then suddenly, she broke away. "I can't."

"Why not?"

"I'm only here for a couple of days Lucas! Then it's back to California for the summer, possibly the rest of my life! You don't want a long distance relationship."

"Brooke, I don't care what it takes, but I need to be with you."

"I want to be with you too," she whispered, giving Lucas hope. "But it's too complicated right now."

Lucas didn't know what else to do. "Fine, call me when things aren't complicated. Unless you forgot, we're in Tree Hill, everything is always complicated." With that he stormed out of the apartment, leaving Brooke to cry on the floor. Haley came running out when she heard the door slam. "Aww Tigger, come here," Haley hugged the girl. "Everything will work out, he loves you." Brooke nodded but it didn't make her stop crying. The girls held onto each other like they were the only people left.


	8. Trouble in Paradise

The next couple of weeks went by quickly for Haley. She was sad when Brooke left, but kept herself busy by working at the café. Peyton and Jake were still in Florida, so it was just her and Lucas in Tree Hill.

"Hey buddy," Lucas greeted Haley when he entered the café. "Did you ever go home this week?"

Haley squirted some water in his face, "Yes I did, smartass."

"Okay, I was kidding! Talk to Nathan lately?"

"Yeah, sounds like he's enjoying camp. I really wish I could have stayed down there with him though."

"Who wouldn't rather be in Florida," Lucas laughed. "But I understand what you mean. Actually, I came down here to ask you something."

"Sure what is it?"

"Well, would you mind coming with me to the hospital today? Deb has been there for a few days, and I figured we could go visit, see how she and Dan are doing."

"Still not awake yet?" Lucas shook his head. "Alright, come get me after my shift."

Lucas and Haley got to the hospital later that night. They found Deb sleeping in one of the uncomfortable hospital chairs.

"You know what, I'm going to go get some coffee. Want to come Hales?"

"No I'll just wait here." Making sure she would be okay, Lucas walked out of the room. Haley focused on Dan. "Hey Mr. Scott, funny how I still call you Mr. Scott when you're my father-in-law, it's Haley. I can't believe the things you did to try and break me and Nathan up. What kind of a father does that to his own son? Why do you resent our relationship so much?" Haley felt his hand brush up against hers. "Mr. Scott?" His eyes slowly opened.

"Haley," he barely got out. "What are you doing here?"

"Emotional support for your son." She said coldly and went to wake Deb up. Then Lucas came back with coffee in hand.

"Haley? What's going on?"

"He's awake," she motioned over to Dan. Lucas went over and sat in the chair near his bed.

"Lucas," Dan whispered. "I'm sorry."

"Sorry for what," he yelled before Haley quieted him down. "The way you treated me and my mom for the last 17 years? Disowning me? Disrespecting your own wife and son? When you figure it out, let me know." Deb then came over next to Lucas.

"Hey Dan," she said tearfully. "While you were in your coma, did you ever possibly think you deserved this? What goes around comes around…" Haley and Lucas decided they didn't want to hear Deb's long speech, for all they knew she was probably high off of pills again.

"Well that was interesting," Haley commented when they got outside. Lucas just nodded. "You gonna be okay Rocket Roe?" Lucas had to laugh at that name and nodded his head again. "Thanks Haley," he said, tears coming to his eyes, and hugged her. "Thanks for always being my best friend."

"43 days to go," Nathan said as he walked into practice that day. Camp wasn't as much fun as he thought it would be. Long practices, too many games, no Haley. He loved basketball, that much was true, but he didn't want to spend the summer before senior year there. He made the right choice the first time by saying no, he wanted to spend time with his wife. As if the coaches read his mind, they held a short meeting that day.

"You all have been working really hard," the coach began. "And all of you are doing great! So all the coaches, along with Milt West have decided to give you guys the weekend off. Come Monday though, practice resumes, so everyone better show up."

Nathan was ecstatic at the news. For weeks now, he had been wishing for a break and now he got one, he knew exactly what he was going to do too.

Haley sighed when she got home later that night. "Another day gone," she said aloud. It was a lonely summer for her. For years it had been just her and Lucas and that's just the way it was. After their junior year however, their circle of friends grew. Once again however, it was just her and Lucas. And the loneliness was settling in. She talked to Peyton everyday. Just yesterday, Peyton informed her that Jake had finally gotten sole custody of Jenny, but they were going to stay in Florida for a few more days. Peyton just wasn't ready to come home yet. Haley talked to Brooke a lot too. Every time Brooke called, she was usually crying, but never really elaborated as to why. That last phone call between the two, Haley would never forget.

_-Flashback-_

"_Hello?"_

"_Hey Haley, it's me," Brooke sniffled._

"_Brooke, how are you?"_

"_Well I'm in California, where it has been my dream to come here on vacation. I'm surrounded by gorgeous guys and amazing shopping malls. I go up to Los Angeles weekly and run into celebs all the time. But it's not Tree Hill, how do you think I'm doing?"_

"_I'm sorry Tigger," Haley said hoping that her nickname for Brooke would cheer her up. "Is there anything I can do?"_

"_I was thinking that maybe we should follow through on that kidnapping plan from awhile ago."_

"_Brooke," Haley laughed. "I would if I could, but I don't really want to get in trouble with the law. Or your parents for that matter. I don't really know who is scarier."_

"_Definitely my parents. Th-They," Brooke started crying harder._

"_Brooke what is it," a concerned Haley asked._

"_Last week," she began trying to hold in the tears. "I went to one of the malls here. When I got back, they wanted to know where I was. I think that they had been drinking, at least my dad had been. I told them the truth and they said how tired they were of me spending all their money, that I was the reason they went bankrupt in the first place. They also said I didn't do any chores. They make me dust and clean and do laundry, which we all know I've never done in my life. I'm like their own personal Cinderella. So anyways, when I got home from the mall, my parents kept saying how I was a lazy, worthless slut, and my only good quality was spending money and then my dad, he…he hit me," her sobs grew louder. Haley gasped. That was probably the last thing she expected Brooke to say._

"_Brooke! Why didn't you tell me sooner this was going on?"_

"_I was ashamed. I've only been living out here for what? A little over a month? I had to make it seem like I was living the perfect 'California girl' life."_

"_Oh my God. Brooke you have to call the police."_

"_I can't. They made me promise I wouldn't tell."_

"_Tigger, please. Do it for me, do it for Peyton, we need you here. But most of all do it for yourself. No one deserves to be treated like that."_

"_Thanks Haley," Brooke said. "I better go before I get in trouble for running up the phone bill or something. Talk to you later."_

"_Okay Brooke, I mean it. You better call. Bye."_

_-End of Flashback-_

Just thinking of that conversation made Haley's stomach churn. Why Brooke? She was the most caring and upbeat person. There was nothing Haley could do though. She just prayed to God that she would hear from Brooke soon. With these uneasy thoughts, she went to bed.

Sometime after midnight, Nathan arrived in Tree Hill and headed straight for their apartment. He couldn't wait to see the love of his life. He walked in as quietly as possible, admiring the interior décor. Peyton really did do a good job. He silently walked down the hall towards the bedroom where he hoped she was asleep. Surely enough she was. He got under the covers carefully, trying not to disturb her. Nathan fell asleep with a smile on his face, he was finally home.

Haley awoke early the next morning and snuggled closer to Nathan. 'Wait? Nathan?' she wondered. She slowly turned around and there he was, lying next to her. It was all she could do from screaming with excitement. Instead she opted to kiss him. He was awake with in seconds.

"Hey you," he said in a husky voice.

"Hey yourself, why didn't you tell me you were coming?"

"I didn't find out until just yesterday. They gave us the weekend off."

"Remind me to thank the coaches later," she murmured as she leaned back down to kiss him. They were interrupted by a knock on the door. "Oh my God, this happens every time," she exclaimed in an annoyed voice as she went to answer the door. She wouldn't be annoyed for long though. "Peyton," she screamed. "You're back."

"Yeah, we came back sooner than we thought we would, Tree Hill is just where we belong I guess."

"This is great! There's just so much to tell you," Haley suddenly realized she would have to tell Peyton about Brooke, but decided to put it off until later. "Where are you staying? Are you going back home?"

"I'm not sure. I figure my dad's gotta leave for work soon, so if the house is empty, then probably."

"Well, I'm so glad you're back! Jake too! This summer is finally starting to turn out right."

"I know," Peyton grinned. "Anyways, just wanted to stop by and say hi! I think I'm going to go back to Jake's house! Call me later!"

"Alright, bye!" Haley was smiling as she walked back to the bedroom.

"Who was that," Nathan asked.

"Peyton! She's back, and so is Jake."

"That's good. So what do you want to do today?"

"Stay right here," Haley said as she was enveloped in Nathan's arms. "I'm glad you're back Nate."

"Me too, Hales, me too," he said quietly. They just laid there and held each other until once again, sleep fell upon them.

Just hours later, Nathan woke up to an empty bed. Sighing, he got up to go find Haley. She was in the living room with Lucas eating lunch. "Thanks for waking me."

"Sorry, you just looked so peaceful," Haley smiled and kissed him.

"Okay you're forgiven, if I can also have a sandwich," she handed him one. "Thanks! Hey Luke, how's it going?"

"Pretty good, you know Dan woke up?"

"He did? I guess that's good."

"Yeah Haley was the one in there when he woke up." Nathan looked up in surprise.

"Really," he directed towards Haley.

"Yeah," she nodded. "We just went to see how your mom was doing and I was just sort of sitting there and I felt his hand move and then his eyes opened."

"Wow. What did he say?"

"Well he told me he was sorry," Lucas cut in. Nathan laughed.

"For what?"

"That's what I asked back, but we left before he could respond," Lucas chuckled. "So I was thinking about going down to the Rivercourt, you want to come?"

"I don't know Luke," Nathan said.

"You should go," Haley responded, knowing that she was the reason keeping Nathan back.

"Alright, I'll go. But Hales, how about a date tonight?" She gave him a quick kiss.

"Sure."

"Wear something formal, I'll pick you up at 7," he winked and walked out the door with Lucas.

After the guys left, Haley had called Peyton and they met at the mall. They were browsing stores looking for the perfect dress for Haley to wear.

"If only Brooke was here," Peyton sighed. Again, Haley realized she was going to have to tell Peyton about her conversation with Brooke.

"Um Peyton, there's something I gotta tell you about Brooke." Peyton's head snapped up.

"What is it," she asked in alarm. Haley then went on to tell her about her last conversation with Brooke. "Oh my God," Peyton began to cry. "Are you serious? We have to get her out of there!"

"She said we can't tell anyone, God only knows what would happen to her if her parents found out we knew."

"But Haley," Peyton screamed. "We can't just sit here and do nothing!"

"For now, it's all we can do. Let's just look for a dress and once Nathan leaves, we can come up with something to get Brooke home." Peyton reluctantly agreed. The two continued shopping until they found the perfect dress.

"Haley you have got to try this on," Peyton handed her a dress. It was a long red halter dress and it was gorgeous. Haley went back to the dressing room and tried it on. When she came out, Peyton gasped. "You have to buy it."

"This is it," Haley exclaimed. "It's perfect!" They purchased the dress and went to look for matching accessories: shoes, jewelry, the works. They got back to the apartment with barely enough time for her to get ready. Peyton helped her curl her hair and do her makeup.

"Alright Hales," Peyton said when she heard the doorbell ring. "Knock him dead."

Haley opened the door to find a very handsome Nathan standing there in a tux. When he saw her, he was in shock. 'She looks beautiful,' he thought. The dress was amazing, the way it fit every curve. Her hair shaped every angle of her beautiful face. Her makeup was subtle, but just enough. "You look amazing," he whispered in her ear as she hugged him.

"You don't look too bad yourself," she winked. "So where are we going?"

"It's a surprise." He led her over to a horse drawn carriage.

"Oh Nathan," she gasped.

"Let's go," he said and helped her in. The two cuddled in the carriage under a perfect moonlit sky.

"So come on, tell me where we're going, you know I hate surprises."

"Nope, my lips are sealed."

"Even if I do this," Haley kissed him. Then began kissing his neck and nibbled on his ear.

"Even if you do that," he chuckled. Haley sat back crossing her arms in defeat. "Come here," he wrapped his arm around her. "I promise, you'll love it." Eventually, they reached their destination.

"Table for two," he led her to a table at the Rivercourt. The court was beautifully lit. In the center of the table, lit only by candlelight, was a single rose. On the plates were two steaming servings of macaroni and cheese.

"Nathan," she said. "It's beautiful. Did you make the macaroni and cheese? It's the food of the—"

"The gods, I remember," he smiled. "And Karen helped with the food. Do we need to bring up the pancake incident again?"

"Oh I think we do," she laughed.

_-Flashback-_

_Haley woke up one morning to the smell of breakfast cooking. She never thought Nathan would be one to cook, and little did she know how right she would be._

"_Morning," she yawned as she walked out in the kitchen._

"_Hey babe, just making some breakfast," he said as he flipped the pancakes._

"_I can see that. You are too good to me."_

"_This is nothing," he simply stated. "But I can prove how good I am to you," he smirked and walked over to kiss her. The kiss became heated, his tongue seeked entrance into her mouth which she gladly granted. He lifted her up and she wrapped her legs around his waist. They were so caught up in the moment, they forgot about the pancakes until they smelled something burning. "The pancakes," Haley yelled. Nathan tried to clear the smoke, but instead knocked the pan onto the floor, pancake batter going everywhere. The smoke eventually thinned out and Nathan went back to making fresh pancakes. He finally made some just right and let Haley taste them first. She nearly choked. It was terrible. "Um wow, Nathan, these are um good," she finally said. _

"_Karen's it is," he said and grabbed the car keys._

_-End of Flashback-_

"Ok you helped cause the small fire, don't blame this all on me," Nathan teased.

"And you couldn't even mix pancake batter right, ew!" They laughed as they finished their food. Nathan then pulled out a CD player from underneath the table and turned it on. "May I have this dance?" He offered his hand to Haley and she gladly took it. The couple gazed into each other's eyes like they were the only people left on the planet.

_The strands in your eyes that color them wonderful  
Stop me and steal my breath  
Emeralds from mountains thrust toward the sky  
Never revealing their depth  
Tell me that we belong together  
Dress it up with the trappings of love  
I'll be captivated  
I'll hang from your lips  
Instead of the gallows of heartache that hang from above_

I'll be your crying shoulder  
I'll be love's suicide  
I'll be better when I'm older  
I'll be the greatest fan of your life

Rain falls angry on the tin roof  
As we lie awake in my bed  
You're my survival, you're my living proof  
My love is alive not dead  
Tell me that we belong together  
Dress it up with the trappings of love  
I'll be captivated I'll hang from your lips  
Instead of the gallows of heartache, that hang from above

_I'll be your crying shoulder  
I'll be love's suicide  
I'll be better when I'm older  
I'll be the greatest fan of your life_

When the song finished, Haley stood up on her toes and kissed Nathan. "Let's go back to the apartment," Nathan suggested when they broke apart. Haley agreed and they got back in the carriage headed for home.

As Nathan and Haley approached the apartment he said to Haley "Close your eyes."

"Why?" 

"Just because. I promise you won't be disappointed."

As they entered the room, Haley's eyes still closed tight. She could smell the aroma of fresh flowers and lavender. Her eyes starting to tear up before she even opened them.

"Okay, open your eyes."

As she opened her eyes she was taken back to their wedding day. Multi colored rose petals coverd the floor of the room and the bed. 

"Aww!" she gasped. Still trying to take it all in.

" That's not all." He said as he led her to the bathroom.

As they opened the door and looked inside all she seen were candles of every shape, size and color as she walked in. There was a bath drawn with lavender bubbles just like she loved, and a messeage on the wall that read. 'I told you I'd always love you.'

Then she started crying. She couldn't believe all the things he had done for her. She still felt so unworthy of him.

"It's okay. Don't cry Haley. You are gonna make me cry too."

"When did you have time to do this," she asked between sobs.

"That's what brothers are for," Nathan smiled as he began to tear up. He couldn't help it. There they were hugging each other, crying together. They missed each other so much, words couldn't express how much they longed to hold each other and to feel the love they shared once again.  
"Haley?" he said as she looked up at him. Then he pulled her close to him and kissed her. It seemed like an eternity since they had shard a kiss and wonderful and passionate as this. Soft yet firm at the same time. She tried to speak but he didn't let her. He just kept kissing her as he led her to the bed of rose petals, where he gently laid her down.

"Haley I need you, more than anything in the world. I need you in every way imaginable. You are what makes my heart whole. I don't ever want to lose you again okay?"

"Okay." was all she could think of to say. She was at such a loss for words. But that didn't seem to matter at this time. All that mattered was that she was once again where she belonged.

Song Credit: I'll Be by Edwin McCain

Huge thanks to LeytonLover22 for helping me out with parts of this! She rocks!


	9. They Came Back

Haley awoke the next morning sprawled across Nathan's bare chest. He was leaving today. And she didn't think she could handle saying goodbye one more time. Then the alarm went off.

"No," she cried out. Nathan sighed.

"Haley I have to, but believe me, I don't want to." He kissed her forehead. "I'm going to take a shower, want to join me," he asked mysteriously and she ran after him into the bathroom. Little did they know it was one of their few happy moments left.

Lucas came to pick them up and take them to the airport once again. 'Things are going to be much harder this time,' Nathan thought to himself as they reached the parking lot. They wouldn't let Haley go through all the security checks so they had to say goodbye sooner than she imagined. She was already sobbing. All Nathan could do was hold her and comfort her.

"It'll be okay Hales. Just a month and a half left to go and then I'll be home for good."

"It's too long, I can't wait that long," she continued crying.

"It'll go by before you know it," Nathan tried to stay strong even though his own tears threatened to fall any minute. "I'll call you everyday, okay?" She simply nodded but didn't want to let go. He reached down to kiss her passionately. Finally, they broke apart and murmured "I love you's." And then it was time for Nathan to go. With one last kiss, he walked away, not daring to look back because he knew he would cry watching his beautiful wife break down.

Lucas dropped Haley off at the apartment. "You going to be okay Hales?"

"Yeah I'll be fine," she hugged him. "Thanks Luke, see ya." She headed up to the apartment as Lucas drove away. Haley never expected to see who she saw when she opened the door.

"Hello Haley." She gasped.

"Chris," she managed to choke out.

"Thought you could run away from the tour, well I've got news for you doll, you can't hide. Why did you run, huh? Couldn't handle the spark between us?"

"Spark, what spark? There is no thing between us Chris."

"I think there is, you just don't want to admit it." He walked closer to Haley and started to reach for her.

"Get away from me," she yelled and slapped him across the face. He punched her back probably twice as hard and she fell to the ground in pain. He gave her another kick which was answered by more screams. He then began to unbutton her shirt. "Chris, stop it," she yelled and slapped him once more. Again he just kicked her back and moved on to her pants. Haley was beginning to lose consciousness as the fall to the ground was a hard one. "Stop," she said not as forcefully.

"Hey Hales. I was on my way home when I realized I left my sweatshirt—" Lucas yelled as he walked into the apartment. When he realized the scene before him, he snapped. "What the fuck are you doing?"

"Get out Lucas, this is what couples do." Lucas grabbed Chris and pinned him to the wall, punching him square in the jaw. "You better hope to God she's alright," he yelled as Chris sank to the floor. He then ran over to Haley who was now unconscious. "Hales, wake up! Come on Haley it's Lucas wake up for me," he started to tear up. "Haley please, wake up!" When he realized she wasn't, he dialed 911.

The ride to the hospital seemed like forever to Lucas. He had gone with Haley in the ambulance. Luckily, Lucas had knocked Chris out and he was also being taken care of. Finally, they arrived at the hospital and Haley was rushed in on a stretcher. Lucas was told to wait in the waiting room. Instead he ran up to Dan's room, praying that Deb was there.

"Deb, deb," Lucas panted when he got there.

"Lucas what is it?"

"Call Nathan," Lucas said tears threatening to fall. "It's-it's Haley."

It was back to practice in Florida. Nathan and the guys were all just shooting around waiting for further instruction. Then Milt West walked in. 'Whoa,' Nathan thought. 'Wonder what's going on, if Milt's here something big must be happening.'

"Nathan Scott can I see you," Milt called him over. Nathan looked up in surprise as if to say, "who, me?" Milt understood and nodded.

"What's going on Mr. West?"

"Please call me Milt. I'm afraid I have some news. Your mother called this morning…"

"Is it Dan? Finally the bastard dies."

"No Nathan, it's not Dan. It's Haley."

"Haley!" He screamed. "What's going on?"

"Apparently she was attacked and knocked unconscious. Your mom said that Lucas walked in just in time because it looked like he was going to force himself on her." Nathan wasn't sure whether to cry or scream.

"Who did this to her," he said in a low voice.

"Um a Chris Keller, I believe." Nathan broke down. Haley, his Haley was attacked by that monster. He should have been there to protect her.

"I have to go back to her."

"I understand. However everyone here is hoping you come back for the big game on the last day. If things are better by then, please consider rejoining us. The coaches all agree that you have a lot of potential. But that's not important right now, go be with your wife. She'll be in our prayers."

"Thank you," Nathan whispered and walked out of the gym, possibly for the last time.

Back at the hospital, Lucas was calling everyone while waiting to hear something about Haley. However, he could not get ahold of her parents.

"Lucas," Karen came running in. "Have you heard anything?" He shook his head no. "Alright, well I'm going to try, maybe I can find out something." She headed for the front desk. Then Peyton came in.

"Lucas," she cried. "I can't do this anymore." He reached out to hug her. "Why is everyone getting hurt? First Brooke, now Haley…" She began crying harder.

"Brooke? What do you mean Brooke?" Peyton then realized what she had said. And she couldn't take it back, so she went into the whole story. After she was finished, Lucas walked away.

"Where are you going?"

"Far away from here." He couldn't take it anymore as he headed outside. He cried and cried, wishing there was something he could do. He felt a hand on his back, it was Karen. She hugged her broken son.

"It'll be okay Lucas," she said as she rubbed his back. "Come on, the nurse said someone would be out soon to give us information." They went back to the waiting room. Finally, the doctor came out. "Who is here for Haley James Scott?" Everyone got up. "She's going to be ok." Everyone let out a huge sigh of relief. "She has some broken ribs and a concussion. She also suffered from internal bleeding in the intestines, we believe she was kicked around that area. But she is stable now, however things could change at any moment. We need for her to wake up to determine if full recovery is possible."

"Thank you doctor," Karen was the only person able to speak. "When can we see her?"

"You can go in now, preferably one at a time. She's in room 227." Karen nodded. She turned to Lucas and Peyton. 'Lucas and Peyton,' she thought to herself. 'This just isn't right, they're the only ones left.' Clearing her heads of those thoughts she said, "Who wants to go in first?"

"Lucas you go," Peyton offered. "You found her luckily so you should go first."

"Thanks," he said and headed for Haley's room. When he got up there, it almost became too much. Tubes and wires hooked up everywhere, and she was clearly bruised. He pulled up a chair next to the bed and held her hand. "Hey Hales, it's Luke. I can't believe that bastard did this to you, but he's in custody and being taken care of. Now all we need is for you to wake up. Come on Hales, I need you. You're my best friend," he started to cry. "You've always been there for me. Nathan needs you too. You made a commitment to him, you can't leave him yet. So please wake up." Lucas couldn't take it anymore so he leaned down and kissed her cheek and walked out.

Meanwhile, while Lucas was visiting Haley. Peyton paid a visit to Dan.

"Hello Mr. Scott."

"Hello, Peyton is it? How are you?"

"Just fine," she slammed the door behind her.

"Is everything okay?"

"No it's not. First of all, I cannot believe the things you have done to Lucas."

"I know and I'm sorry—"

"Let me finish," she snapped. "And on top of all that you've done, he is now dealing with his best friend lying in a coma and the girl he loves is being beaten by her parents. So if you really are sorry, you'll be willing to help Lucas. And you would be helping me and Haley out as well."

Dan sighed, "I really do want to change Peyton."

"Then you'll help me, great!"

After Lucas left the hospital room, Karen came in next. She also sat near the bed and took Haley's hand. "Haley sweetie, it's Karen, your almost mom. You've been so great to me and Lucas over the last 9 or so years, you've been like a daughter and a sister. And to have almost lost my son and now possibly lose my daughter in the same year can't happen." Karen was sobbing by now. "Please Haley, wake up for us. We all need you here, but most importantly, Nathan needs you here."

"You're right, I do," Karen surprisingly looked up, wiping her face.

"Nathan."

"How is she," Nathan himself was on the verge of tears.

"I assume the doctors told you the medical parts of it?" He nodded. "All we can do is hope that she wakes up. Haley's a strong girl and she knows how much we all need her here. She isn't going to leave us yet." Karen hugged Nathan. "Talk to her, you'll feel better." And with that, she left the married couple alone.

"Hey Hales," Nathan leaned down and kissed her. A tear falling from his eye onto her cheek, which he gently wiped off. "I'm home. And I need you to wake up. You're the most important thing in my life, not basketball. That's why I asked you to marry me. So we can grow old together, watch our kids grow up, watch our grandkids grow up. I need you here to do all that with me. Please Haley…"

Dan was standing outside the door of Haley's room as he heard Nathan talk to her. As evil and manipulating as he was, he didn't want his own sons to be hurting, unless it was him that got to cause it. He knew what he had to do. He went back down the hall to his room and picked up the phone.

"Robert? It's Dan Scott."

The next week was a blur of visitors and sympathy cards. Haley still wasn't awake. Deb walked into Haley's room to find her son asleep on the bed next to his wife. "Nathan, sweetie, why don't you go home and get a shower and some real sleep?"

"I can't leave her alone."

"Go on Nate. I'll stay here until you get back."

"Mom, I really should stay just--"

"Go, Nathan. Please." He decided it would be nice to sleep in his own bed, even if Haley wasn't there with him so he left. Now it was Deb's turn to talk to Haley.

"Hey Haley, it's Deb. I know we've had our share of hard times but I need you here. Without you around, Nathan is just a mess and do you know what it's like do deal with him when he gets like that?" She chuckled. "But you need to wake up because so many people here love you. Nathan and Lucas the most, and Karen, Peyton, Brooke, all of your friends. You're so strong Haley, we need you here." She got up and headed for the door quickly passing the brunette who had entered the room. She then realized who it was and did a double take.

"Brooke? What are you doing here?"

"It's a long story, but you might want to ask your husband. How is Haley?" Deb went on to tell her the things the doctor said and how anything could change with her condition.

"I think she needs her friends right now Brooke, go talk to her." With a quick nod, Deb left and headed down for Dan's room. "Dan?"

"Yes dear?"

"Do you want to explain why Brooke is in Haley's room right now and she said to ask you why?"

Dan sighed. "I don't want my sons to be hurting anymore." He conveniently left out the part about unless it was him doing the hurting. "I can't do anything about Haley, but with Brooke I can. Peyton came to see me and pretty much talked at me. Telling me how Brooke's parents were treating her and that if I had a heart, I would do something about it. So I called Brooke's father, you remember Robert don't you?" Deb nodded. "All I did was make a deal with him," Dan shrugged.

"And what was that deal, Dan?"

"He lets Brooke come back, or he would be unemployed again. His boss is a friend of mine. And you know that all the Davis's care about is money." Deb nodded her head in agreement.

"Honestly, I'm not sure if I believe this is sincere or not. How do I know you're not plotting something else? Don't mess with them anymore Dan," she warned him before she left.

"Good to see you too, wife. Yes, I'm feeling fine," Dan cockily grinned as she walked out the door.

Back in Haley's room, Brooke was torn. "Haley, you saved me from my awful parents. And you're not even awake for me to thank you! Who else will I call Tutorgirl? Come on Haley, wake up so we can make fun of the awful pants Deb was wearing. And if you don't wake up, then I'm going to have to take care of pod Nathan and broody Lucas. You don't want to have to make me do that do you!" Brooke sat in silence for what seemed like hours. But what was only minutes later, Haley's eyes opened. "Tutorgirl!"

"Tigger," she replied hoarsely.

"Hold on Hales, I'll go get the nurse." She ran down to the nurse's desk and then headed for the lobby. She spotted Karen first. "Karen," she yelled.

"Brooke! What are you doing here?"

"Not important, although I may need a place to sleep later. Haley is awake. I'm sure she would love to see you."

"Oh sweetie, thank you. Let me just go get Lucas." She motioned over to a sleeping Lucas in a nearby chair.

"Actually, can I do it?" Karen nodded and then walked away. Brooke headed over to Lucas and kissed him. "Hey broody."

"Brooke? Wh-what are you doing here?"

"Haley's awake. Where's Nathan?"

"She is! Oh my God, that's great," he leapt out of the chair. "He's home, but I'll call him later. I gotta see Haley." He ran off to her room. When he got up there, his mom was already talking to her. He started to cry when he saw her. "Hey buddy, I missed you."

"Thanks Luke," she whispered in his ear as she hugged him. "So why is Brooke here?"

Brooke then left the hospital and drove to Peyton's house. She hadn't spoken to her best friend in so long and couldn't take it anymore.

"Brooke!" Peyton screamed when she opened the door. The girls hugged and cried. "I missed you so much and I was so worried about you, thinking about you all alone out there in California with your parents and—"

"Shh," Brooke quieted a rambling Peyton. "I'm here now. For good. So let's talk about you missy blonde girl. How are things with psycho stalker bitch? And for once I'm not talking about Nikki."

"I haven't seen her since I ran out. My dad must have left for another job. People always leave right? I thought maybe once, just this once he would stay until I came home so he could talk to me when I was in a more rational mood."

"You, rational? Doesn't happen to often P. Sawyer," the girls laughed. "Anyways, enough about us, Haley is awake. Let's go, we better pick up Nathan at their apartment. He doesn't know yet."

"Do we really want to be in the same room with him when he finds out he's the last to know his wife is awake?" Brooke shrugged. "Guess someone's gotta tell him."

They picked Nathan up and headed to the hospital. He sprinted all the way up to her room. "Haley," he yelled when he reached the room. A huge smile appeared across her face.

"Nathan, you came back," she said before they kissed. Finally, 2 months since everyone left, everyone was back. This was the way it was supposed to be. All 6 teens in Tree Hill. Life couldn't get better. Okay so maybe she was lying in a hospital bed with her crazy father-in-law just a few rooms down, but for now things were perfect.

**So this chapter kind of jumped all over the place and seemed kind of random to me. I was just getting sick of it and was like "Ok I need to get everyone back in Tree Hill and maybe add some drama in there." And I rushed. I was just getting frustrated because this chapter was going nowhere. Sigh. So hope you liked it. Now I don't have to deal with long distance phone calls anymore. Everyone is back, and summer is coming to end, and the drama will continue! Please review!**


	10. The 6 of Us

"Brooke, what's all this?"

"Presents," she cheered as she dumped shopping bags all over Haley's bed. "Nothing makes me feel better than new clothes so I figured the same for you!"

"Wow, thank you, but it's too much."

"No it's not. Besides, its all thanks to my parents." Haley's face fell at her comment. "Haley, it's okay. I can joke about it now. I'm free from them, and I get to spend their money! What could be better?" Haley laughed and Nathan walked in.

"Hey Hales, ready to go home?"

"Yes! This place is depressing. You were right Brooke, this place needs a makeover."

"When am I not right," she laughed. "I'll go put these bags in your car."

"Thanks." She turned to Nathan. "So when are you leaving to go back to camp?"

"I don't know Hales. I mean, can I really leave you right now? I think I'm needed here to protect you."

"I'm a big girl Nate, I can take care of myself."

"And being by yourself landed you in a hospital." Haley frowned.

"Ok, maybe so. But I don't want you to give up your dream for me."

"I did it once, I can do it again."

"Nathan, please."

"Alright, how about I go for the last couple of days. Milt West said I could stay here as long as I needed but I could go back for the big game."

"But you'll be missing all those practices in between," she argued.

"Practice? I don't need practice," he smirked. "It doesn't matter. I'll still go down to the Rivercourt with Lucas and all that, but the big game is when all the scouts are there. Those last few days matter the most."

"If you say so," she sighed. "Now let's get out of here."

When they got back to the apartment, Nathan got to carry all of the shopping bags into the house. Brooke sure could spend money like there was no tomorrow. "Hey Hales, what do you want to do for lunch," he said as he walked back out into the living room. Haley was already asleep on the couch though. So Nathan picked her up and carried her to the bedroom. Then, he placed her on the bed and climbed in next to her. They were finally home.

Brooke was living under the same roof as Lucas once again. He wasn't too sure what to think of that. And why did she kiss him at the hospital? He needed answers.

"Brooke," he said softly as he knocked on the door. "Are you in there?"

"Yeah, come in." She was lying on the bed reading a magazine. "You know Luke, this bed would look a lot better with you in it."

"About that…"

"You want to know why I kissed you at the airport? Lucas, you know I have feelings for you. But seeing those pictures of Peyton reminded me of how horrible everything was. What if we get sucked back into the drama?"

"We won't. Brooke, I want to be with you. I think I already made that clear," he laughed, she nodded. "Why not give us another chance? How about a first date?"

"Luke, think of everything that happened on our first date."

"I got drunk, tattooed, and robbed of my virginity."

"Exactly."

"But it was all with you," he grinned.

"You should write for Hallmark," she remarked. "Okay, okay. I'll go. But we are taking things slow. Spread out those activities over say, 3 dates or so."

"Alright," Lucas laughed. Then he heard Karen in the kitchen. His mom. How would they ever tell her?

Haley woke up the next morning with a smile on her face. She turned to her husband and kissed him to wake him up. "Morning," she said sweetly.

"Hey you," he sighed groggily.

"So I was thinking we should call all our friends and do something tonight," she said cheerfully.

"Wow, this early in the morning, how can you be so happy and already making plans for tonight?"

"It's a gift," she shrugged and laughed. "So get up and shower. I want to go to Karen's for breakfast."

"Alright, I'm up. But you're joining me in the shower," he winked.

After a long shower and getting dressed, they headed for Karen's café. 'It's so good to be in Tree Hill again,' Nathan thought to himself. How right things were.

"Hey guys," Karen greeted them as they entered. "How are you feeling today Haley?"

"Oh fine, thanks."

"Good to hear. So what can I get you two?"

"Your famous blueberry waffles of course," Haley cheered. "And probably some coffee for Nathan." She pointed to her husband who looked like he could fall asleep at any moment.

"Hey, it's early," he pouted. Karen laughed.

"Okay, I'll bring that out." She headed back towards the kitchen. Not long after, Jake, Peyton, and Jenny came in.

"Jenny," Haley shrieked as she reached for the little girl to hold.

"Wow, someone's in a good mood today," Peyton commented. Nathan nodded.

"I think everyone's in a good mood today," he agreed. Nathan and Jake started talking about sports as Peyton and Haley continued playing with Jenny and taking.

"So Haley, things seem like they're going well…"

"They are. This summer is getting better and better."

"Yeah you being attacked was great," Peyton said sarcastically then realized what she had said. "Oh I'm sorry Haley, I didn't mean that."

"I know, it's okay. But in a way, it brought Nathan and Brooke back home right?"

"Yes it did," Peyton said with a grin thinking of her best friend.

"So how are things with your dad and mom?"

"As well as can be expected, I guess. Elizabeth stopped by last night. Said she wants to get to know me. I'm almost 18 and leaving for college next year! It's not like there is a lot of time left."

"At least you have some time," Haley sighed. "And at least she's around. My parents packed up and left assuming that since I'm married, I don't need them anymore. Give her a chance. I wish my parents were still around. Well they are I guess, just not here in Tree Hill. I would love to get to spend time with them."

"I guess so. I don't know. I haven't talked to my dad yet. It's like we took one step forward and two steps back. He finally starts to take shorter job offers so he can be at home more, and now he's gone all the time. Thank God Jake and Jenny are back. It got lonely in the house."

"I can imagine," Haley said when Karen brought out her waffles. "Thanks Karen, you're the best!"

"Anything for my favorite daughter," Karen winked.

"Your only daughter," Haley chuckled. "So Peyton," she said between bites. "I was thinking all of us could do something tonight. Sort of like celebrating all 6 of us back in Tree Hill, ya know?"

"Sure, sounds good. How about bowling?"

"Wow, I haven't bowled in like forever. But it sounds like fun, we'll be there."

"Great, I'll call Brooke later. So have you heard anything about Chris?"

"Nathan said someone called while I was still in the hospital. His hearing is in like a month."

"Good. I hope it gets sent to prison."

"Me too," Haley sighed. "I feel so bad for Nathan though. He's not going back to camp until the last few days. It's not fair that I'm holding him back from his dream."

"Haley, you're not holding him back. He cares about you and will always put you first. And he is going back for the last few days so at least it's something."

"I guess. Still it's like Chris always holds a piece of our lives."

"It'll be okay Haley," she patted her friend on the back. "Now let me have some of those waffles!"

After their breakfast, Haley and Nathan went down to the Rivercourt for awhile so Nathan could get some practice in. Not much basketball playing got done considering how most of their time was spent making out in the tree. That is until Lucas came down to the court and broke them up. It was just another lazy summer day in Tree Hill and that night they got ready to go bowling.

"Haley do we have to go," Nathan asked as they were getting dressed. "We could just stay in."

"We could," she agreed. "But when was the last time all 6 of us were in the same room together?"

"When you were in the hospital."

"That doesn't count! I wasn't awake for the first week!"

"Okay, okay, you win."

"Thank you," she wrapped her arms around his neck and began kissing him.

"You look hot Hales, sure you don't want to stay in?"

"I'm sure. Now let's go, we're already late!"

At the bowling alley, everyone else was always there. "Could they for once in their life stop making out and come hang out with us," Brooke asked.

"Look who's talking," Peyton said and Brooke stuck her tongue out at her. Then Nathan and Haley arrived.

"Finally," Brooke squealed. "Tutorgirl get over here!"

"I'm coming, I'm coming. Sorry we're late."

"Sure you are. Let's go in, you too Tutorboy." They set up the teams to be boys against girls. "So what do we get when we win," Brooke asked.

"Umm ice cream?" Lucas threw in.

"Or something better. Like you guys have to run through the town square in your boxers."

"Your on. And when we win, you guys have to run through the town square in your bra and panties," Nathan said competitively. "Good thing I have my camera phone."

"Good thing," Brooke agreed. "Because I left mine at Karen's, so I'll need to use yours so everyone can see you in your boxers." Everyone laughed. "Let's get the game started." The 6 started to play. The score changed all the time. Sometimes the boys were ahead, sometimes the girls were ahead. It was now Haley's turn and yet again she was found straddling Nathan's lap, making out with him.

"Oh Haleyyyyy," Brooke said in a sing-song voice. "You may not have gotten laid in awhile but we don't need to see it here. Keep it PG kids." Haley turned around with the familiar red color coming to her cheeks. "Take your turn, tutorwife."

"Don't you every get tired of the nicknames Brooke," Jake asked.

"Never, it's who I am." And they all nodded their head in agreement. "Ok Hales, listen up. We need you to get a spare or better otherwise we don't have a shot to win. Good luck!" Haley was feeling the pressure. She went up to the lane and threw the ball. A strike! The girls started screaming and Brooke and Peyton broke out into a cheer. "You can't bowl, you can't score, you will be us nevermore!" All 3 girls broke into laughter. It was Nathan's turn. He had to get a strike to tie it.

"Let's go Nate," Jake and Lucas's cheers were heard throughout the bowling alley. Nathan got up to the lane, rolled the ball, and knocked down only 7 pins. The girls started screaming and cheering again. "We won, we won," they all yelled.

"Next stop, town square," Peyton said. Everyone got in their cars and drove down.

"Ok boys, lose the clothes," Brooke ordered.

"Wow, Lucas, bet you're glad she finally said that to you," Nathan smirked.

"I heard that Nate!" She yelled back. "Don't forget, you're the one who lost the game!" Nathan's smirk turned into a frown. "That's what I thought!" Brooke was like a drill sergeant.

"Ok, so what do we have to do," Jake sighed. All 3 guys stood there in their boxers.

"Two laps around the square, no cutting corners and make sure you pass open windows. Nathan, can I please borrow your phone?" He sadly handed it to her. "Thank you. Not start running!" The boys took off and the girls could not contain their laughter. Brooke was making a video of this from Nathan's phone, while Haley and Peyton took pictures with theirs. An old lady came out of her house and started whistling at the boys, which only made the girls laugh even harder. Finally, they completed their run and got their clothes back on as quickly as they could. "So how about some ice cream," Brooke asked. "Your treat!"

After they all got ice cream and hung out a little more, everyone headed for home. "Did you have fun tonight Nate?"

"Yeah, I did. Minus the whole 'run through town square' thing." Haley laughed as she took off her necklace. "What are you doing," Nathan asked.

"You," she smirked and kissed him.

The next morning, they were woken up by a too cheerful Brooke. Neither wanted to get out bed, so they just listened to her knock. "Tutorgirl and boy, I know you're in there! Open up! I don't care if you are having sex or not, if you don't come to the door now I'm breaking a window!" Haley sighed and got up. "Hey Brooke."

"Finally, didn't think two people could last that long during sex!"

"Brooke, we weren't—"

"Whatever," she cut Haley off. "So we're having a girl's day today. Get dressed, we're meeting Peyton in like 20 minutes!"

"Do I have a choice?"

"No!" Brooke pushed Haley back towards the bedroom.

"Let me guess," Nathan said when she entered. "Shopping?"

"Like that's a surprise," Haley laughed. "Sorry, girl's day. No boys allowed. You have cooties." She tried to look horrified.

"You didn't seem to think I had cooties last night," Nathan smirked. Haley's cheeks started to blush.

"I need to get ready," she stammered and went to take a shower. When she got out, Brooke and Nathan were in the kitchen drinking coffee. "Ready to go Tigger?"

"Born ready. Let's go!" Haley kissed Nathan goodbye and walked out the door. Once she left, Nathan called Lucas.

"Hello?"

"Hey, it's me. I need your help with something, but you have to promise you won't tell Haley."

Credit to the writers of the OC, used a line from one of their episodes.


	11. The Devil is Back

_Ding-dong._

"Nathan, Haley, hi," Deb greeted the couple. "Come on in." She ushered the two into her house. It was time for one of the Scott's famous family dinners. It was going to be a long night. But luckily Lucas was going to be there. Haley sat down next to him and Nathan next to her. Nathan's grandparents were there, and surprisingly so were Whitey and Karen. 'And so the fun begins.' Haley thought.

"Whitey, do you think you guys will have a shot at the championship this year," Royal asked.

"Please, no talk of sports," Mae said. "Karen, how are things at the café?"

"Things are great, Deb has been such great help."

"Oh Karen, I think you give me too much credit," Deb responded.

"Speaking of the café," Dan said. "Dad, remember how you tried to visit Karen last time you were here? What's that about?"

"Danny, just because you left Karen, doesn't mean we did. We kept contact with her to make sure she and Lucas were doing okay," Mae said.

"So Nathan, when are you going back to camp," Royal interrupted.

"Um I think I'm just going to go back down for the last couple of days."

"What do you mean? That's almost 3 weeks from now!"

"I have bigger things to worry about," Nathan shrugged.

"And what is more important than basketball?" Even Dan seemed to be in shock. He seemed to have had a better outlook on life since his near death experience. However, the key word was seemed.

"Dad," Dan tried to say.

"No one asked you son," Royal cut him off. Nathan was tired of this and just went off.

"It's okay Dad, I can answer it. So what is more important than basketball? Do you even have to ask me that," Nathan was practically yelling. "My wife, my brother, my parents. Just to name a few. My dad nearly died, twice. And did we ever hear from you? No! My wife could have died if she didn't respond to the medicine she was on, but she did. My brother did die during surgery and luckily came back. One of my friends was being abused by her father and Dan was able to bring her home. Another friend was trying to get custody of his daughter for the longest time and finally did. All these things I should be thankful for and now you're telling me, basketball is the most important thing? Grow up grandpa." Nathan got up and left the table.

"I think I hit a nerve," Royal commented.

"I better go check on him," Haley said quietly as she got up.

"I'll go with you Hales," Lucas said and walked away. They went up to Nathan's bedroom. Haley knocked. "Nate, can we come in?"

"Sure," they heard him mumble and walked in. He was lying on his bed tossing a basketball up in the air.

"You okay babe," Haley kissed him lightly.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. It's just- I hate how he does that, gets inside my head you know?"

"I know," Haley said and cuddled up to him.

"I don't know how you put up with him all these years Nate," Lucas sighed. "Anything we can do to help?"

"Finding me a way to sneak out of here?"

"Or you could just walk out the back door."

"Good point. Let's go, I'm starving. We should have eaten first, then stormed out," Nathan said as he grabbed his car keys. They went down to the café. Rose was working and took their orders.

"So Luke, how are things going with you and Brooke?"

"Slow," he sighed.

"Speaking of," Haley said as Brooke walked in. "Hey Brooke!"

"Hey! I thought you all had that dinner thing tonight."

"We did, but you know the Scotts, they have short tempers," Haley and Brooke laughed.

"You're right. So what's new?"

"Actually, I'm glad you're here Brooke," Nathan said. "I was thinking…"

"Thinking? That can't be good," Lucas interrupted.

"Dude, shut up! Well you know how I'm going back to High Flyers for the big game right?" They all nodded. "So I was thinking we could all road trip down, Jake and Peyton too."

"Ahh! Road trip! We're going on a road trip," Brooke started to cheer.

"Well, I guess Brooke's in, how about you guys?" Haley and Lucas both nodded.

"Of course, wouldn't miss it!"

"This is so great! Tutorgirl we have to go shopping! Oh my God I have to call Peyton, I hope she can come too! Broody maybe we can even have our date down there," Brooke winked.

"Slow down Brooke," Haley said. "It's not for another 3 weeks."

"So? That's barely enough time to shop and pack! Come on Haley, let's go!" She tried to pull Haley out of the booth.

"Brooke, I want to eat first," Haley whined and Brooke agreed to let her eat.

"You know, I think I should probably go back to the house," Nathan said when he was done eating.

"I'll go with you," Lucas and Haley said at the same time.

"You go," Haley said to Lucas. "Brooke and I will shop, besides its more of a family thing."

"Aw, you're family Hales," Lucas said.

"I know, it's okay. Just go. See you later." She and Brooke left to go shopping once again. After they were out of sight, Lucas turned to Nathan.

"So is this trip to Florida just a part of the plan?"

"Not really, figured it would help out though."

"Dude, you've got nothing to worry about, she loves you and is already married to you after all."

"I know. Ready to go?" Lucas nodded. The boys paid and then left. Deb was the first to greet them when they got back to the house.

"I'm so glad you're back," she said as she hugged her son.

"Sorry I just left mom."

"It's okay. I'm glad you stood up to him like that. Now come back in the dining room, Karen and I have an announcement to make." She led the boys back to where everyone was still sitting. Karen then stood up next to Deb.

"Could we have everyone's attention for a minute," Deb began. "Karen and I have decided to open up another Karen's Café… in Charlotte!" Everyone stood opened mouth. Nathan and Lucas looked at each other, neither knew this was going on. But then they got up and hugged their moms.

"Good for you mom," Lucas said. Everyone else followed suit and congratulated them.

At the mall, Haley was trying on what seemed to be the thousandth bikini. "Brooke, I really don't need another one."

"You can never have too many," she yelled back. Haley gave up, there was no use trying to convince Brooke Davis of anything.

"So Tigger, how are things with you and Lucas?"

"Fine," she simply said.

"Fine? Brooke, I know you. You want to say so much more than just fine."

She let out a huge sigh. "You're right, I do. Things are great. Okay, so maybe we haven't officially gone out yet or anything but he keeps talking about how much he wants to be with me and obviously I'm still in love with—oops."

"In love with him?" Oh my God Brooke," Haley squealed.

"Keep it down," Brooke quieted her. "And you have got to get that suit Hales, Nathan will flip when he sees you in it…"

Later that night when Haley got back to the apartment, she found Nathan sleeping on the couch with ESPN on the TV. She quietly walked over and tried to lie down next to him, but the couch wasn't that big. He had started to wake up and pulled Haley on top of him. "How was shopping?"

"Fun, bought lots of swimsuits for Florida," she smiled.

"You'll have to model them for me," he winked.

"Keep dreaming. How were things back at the house?"

"Surprising."

"How so," she asked as she traced her fingers along his chest.

"Well my mom and Karen are opening another café in Charlotte."

"Wow, that's great!"

"Yeah, I guess so. My grandpa didn't say two words to me the rest of the night either," he chuckled.

"We don't need him anyways."

"We could sure use his bank account." They laughed.

"We could," she agreed yawning. Sleep was beginning to take her over. "Nate?"

"Yeah?"

"Promise we'll always be like this," she whispered as she fell asleep.

"Promise. Love you Hales." He decided they better get into their own bed so he carried her back to the bedroom. She mumbled something along the way which sounded like, "I love you too."

The next morning Haley woke up alone. She sighed to herself when she remembered what today was. Nathan had to work today. They couldn't survive on her concert earnings forever. She decided to go down to the café to see if Karen needed any help.

"Hey Haley," the petite woman greeted her.

"Hey Karen, need any help?"

"Oh it's okay, you don't need to."

"No, I need the distraction," she said as she picked up an apron and headed back behind the counter. "Oh and congratulations on the new café."

"Thanks," Karen grinned. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner."

"It's okay, let me know if you need any help with it." Karen nodded as she got back to work. Lucas came in around lunchtime.

"Hey buddy," he said. "Excited for Florida?"

"We were just there 2 months ago Luke. And I think Brooke's more excited than I am."

"It'll be fun," he smiled.

"Please don't tell me you're imagining Brooke in her bikini doing certain things I wouldn't want to know about right now."

"Well actually she wasn't wearing anything but—"

"LUCAS!"

"Okay, sorry. How about we do something later, go to the rivercourt, like we used to?"

"Sure, pick me up at like 6?"

"Haley you aren't even supposed to be working today. Go!" Karen said.

"Yeah Hales, go!" Lucas mocked and Karen shot him a look. "Sorry," he mumbled.

"Alright, alright, fine. Let's go! Bye Karen!" Haley and Lucas headed down to the rivercourt. It was one of their favorite things to do growing up. Sometime she would just watched Lucas play basketball or they sat under the tree and talked.

"What's going on Luke?"

"Brooke," he sighed. "I don't know what to do. I love her, I think everyone knows that, but she's freaked out by those pictures of Peyton…"

"I don't know what to tell you Lucas. Give her time, she'll come around."

"I don't want to wait though!"

"Wow, you do realize you sound about 6 years old right?"

"Whatever. I've got bigger problems."

"I guess so. Listen, I don't know if I should be telling you this, but Brooke seems to have some pretty strong feelings for you too. At least that's the impression I got after we went shopping."

"You talked about me when you were shopping! What else did she say?"

"Not getting into it. I probably already said too much."

"Okay, fair enough. So how are you?"

"Fine."

"Just fine? You and Nathan okay?"

"Yeah, we're great actually."

"Good, if you're happy, I'm happy."

"Are you happy?"

"For you, yes. For me, welcome to the pity party." Haley laughed and hugged him.

"Come on, bet I can beat you in some one on one!"

"Haley, do you realize what you just said? You couldn't even make a free throw unless you did it granny style," he snickered. Haley punched his arm. "Hey!"

"Shut up and play you big baby."

Nathan got off work at 5 and headed back for the apartment. He was disappointed when he realized Haley wasn't there, but decided to go down to the rivercourt to shoot some hoops. He was going back to the camp after all and was going to need the practice! Nathan pulled up to the court and was ecstatic when he saw his beautiful wife playing ball with his brother.

"Nathan," she squealed and jumped into his arms.

"Hello to you to," he chuckled. "Hey bro, what's up?"

"Not much, just kicking Haley's ass."

"No you're not," she protested and stuck her tongue out at him.

"Keep playing, I'll join Haley's team," Nathan winked at her.

"Hey, that's not fair," Lucas argued and once again Haley stuck her tongue out at him. "Hales you might want to come up with something less childish."

"Never," she giggled. "Ready to lose Scott?"

"Yeah Scott, ready to lose?" Lucas agreed.

"You're a Scott too," Nathan smirked.

"What? Oh.. Well, ready to lose newlyweds?"

"We're not really newlyweds anymore Lucas," Haley said. "Only a few more months until our first anniversary."

"Yeah, who'd have thought we would have made it this far?"

"Definitely not me," Lucas said. "Wow, if you asked me a year ago that I would be in this position today, I would have asked what drugs you were on." Haley and Nathan both nodded in agreement. "Anyways, back to the game!"

"Isn't this an uneven number of people to be playing a game?" Haley froze, she knew that creepy voice anywhere.

"Chris."


	12. Thinking of the Future

"Chris." Never again did Haley think those words would come out her mouth.

"What the hell are you doing here," Nathan said angrily. Lucas pulled out his phone quickly and as soon as he heard Brooke say hello, "Brooke. Rivercourt. Now." And hung up. She wasn't sure what to think but by the tone of his voice, she knew it was important and left immediately.

"I just came back for my lover."

"Sorry buddy, Rosie Palm isn't here right now," Lucas snickered.

"Clever. Come on Haley. Let's go," he reached for her hand and Nathan punched him square in the jaw.

"Dude what the hell is your problem! Charges are already being pressed against you! Do you really want more?" Nathan threatened.

"I'm just here to be with the one I love. Haley call me later," he winked and started to walk away, but was tackled by Nathan who continuously punched him. Finally, Brooke pulled in and Haley ran into her comforting arms. Lucas was trying to pull Nathan off of Chris and finally succeeded.

"Get the hell out of here Chris before I call the cops," Lucas yelled.

"Whatever, I'll be back. Bye Haley," he pretended to blow a kiss and Nathan ran up behind him one last time and kicked him as hard as he could. Chris fell but slowly got up and walked away limping. Nathan and Lucas walked over to wear Brooke was still holding Haley.

"Hales, you going to be okay," Brooke asked.

"Yeah, I'll be fine, just a little scared." She let go and hugged Lucas. "Thanks buddy."

"Anything for you best friend." Haley then walked over to Nathan.

"Thanks for protecting me this time," she said as she hugged him.

"Come on let's go get some food," Lucas said and they all headed for the café. When they got there, Nathan decided to call their lawyer about Chris and stayed outside on the phone. Haley, Brooke, and Lucas went in and ordered their food.

"Luke have you talked to Mouth lately," Brooke asked.

"Not really, it's been about a month. He's in New Jersey with Erica."

"Aw, I'm so happy for them. Poor Mouth could never get a girl's attention," Brooke chuckled. Haley noticed Nathan outside looking incredibly angry.

"I'll be right back guys," she said and headed for the door.

"What the hell man? Can't you get it changed or something," Nathan screamed into the phone. "Damnit!" He shut the phone off.

"Nate, what's wrong?"

"Chris," he sighed. "His hearing is scheduled on one of the days we'll be in Florida. We won't be able to be there. Not only that, it seems like he is going to be offered some stupid plea bargain and get off easier than we hoped."

Now it was Haley's turn to sigh. "There's nothing we can do now. I'm sure Karen would be willing to go down and speak. I'm glad she's around." Nathan knew that the subject of her parents was touchy. Although they loved their daughter and spent as much time as they could together, it wasn't enough. She was only 17 and married, a time when she could have used a lot of support, but her parents just left to travel the country.

"Karen's great," he agreed. "I just can't believe that bastard is getting off easy."

"We don't know that for sure. Now come on let's go eat." The two headed back inside.

"So guess who called me the other day," Lucas asked as Nathan and Haley rejoined them.

"Peyton," Brooke smirked. Then she started laughing. "I'm sorry, just kidding, but the look on your face was priceless! So who called you?"

"Anna!"

"Anna, no way! How is she?"

"She said she was doing fine and that she misses us all. It sounds like things are going to be okay for her. She mentioned that she and Darby had started dating again."

"Aw, I'm glad she was finally able to come out with everything," Haley said and Brooke nodded.

"Yeah, believe it or not, I miss her too. She was fun to hang out with and a great person to talk to."

"Maybe she'll come back to visit, as long as she doesn't bring that asshole Felix with her," Nathan said.

"I hope so! Brooke we could have another sleepover," Haley giggled. Her cell phone went off.

"Hello?"

"Hey, it's Peyton. Listen I have a favor to ask."

"Sure what is it?"

"Would you and Nathan mind babysitting Jenny tonight? We haven't been out in forever and Jake doesn't want to keep leaving her with his parents so we were hoping you could do it. I understand if you're busy or if you—"

"Peyton, slow down. Of course we'll do it."

"Great! Thanks, can you be here in like 20 minutes?"

"Yeah, see you then." Haley hung up the phone. "Nathan we're babysitting in 20 minutes."

"Jenny?" He asked and she nodded. "Alright."

"Think you can handle a baby superstar," Brooke said making fun of Nathan. "You might have to change her diaper."

"I think I can do it Brooke. If I need help with a diaper, I'll call you."

"Oh, please don't. Let your wife do it."

"Nathan babysitting… Why do I wish I could be there to watch it," Lucas asked.

"Ha, very funny Luke. I'm not clueless guys, I can take care of a kid," Nathan protested.

"Yes, and he'll be great at it," Haley kissed him. "We better go, they're expecting us soon, see you later guys." Nathan and Haley went over to Peyton's house.

"Hey guys," Jake greeted them as he answered the door. "Thanks for coming."

"No problem," Haley said. "Where is my favorite girl?"

"Sleeping ght now, might be up soon, or she might be asleep the rest of the night. All of the important numbers are by the phone. There are bottles in the fridge and diapers and everything is all in Peyton's room near her crib. I wrote down a list of other things she might need." Jake handed Haley a paper.

"Jake, we'll be okay. Don't worry about us."

"It's not you I'm worried about, it's her," Jake winked. "Kidding, anyways we shouldn't be back too late." Peyton came rushing down the stairs.

"Ok I'm ready, you ready? Hey Hales, Hey Nate," she gave them both hugs. "Let's go." And the 2 left as quickly as Peyton had entered.

"You kids behave yourselves now," Nathan yelled out the door while Haley giggled. "So what do you want to do now?"

"I think I'll go check on Jenny real quick, you go watch TV or something. I'll be right back." Haley headed upstairs and Nathan sat on the couch. He turned the TV on to what else, SportsCenter. Haley came down a few minutes later. "Nate, do we have to watch this," she asked with her pleading brown eyes.

"Yes, they'll be showing scores for that game I missed earlier." Haley continued scooting closer and closer until she finally got in his lap. She turned to face him and began kissing him feverishly. "Hales, should we really be doing this with Jenny in the house?"

"I guess not," she laughed and changed the channel.

"Hey! How did you do that?" Haley held up the remote which was now in her hand. "Not fair, you tricked me."

"Don't leave it in your pocket next time." She kept channel surfing until she finally settled on an old romantic movie. And after that movie was over, A Walk To Remember came on. It was Haley's all time favorite movie. It was getting late, and she started to drift off, resting her head on Nathan's shoulder. Then Jenny started crying. Nathan got up as carefully as he could to check on her without waking Haley. He managed and headed up for the bedroom. When he got there, he picked up the crying child.

"Hey Jenny," he said quietly as he gently rocked her. "Shh. It's okay, I'm here now." She began to quiet down. "So what do you think of Haley? Can I pick them or what?" He laughed. "She's great and she's great with you. I can just see her with our own kids someday. Can I tell you a secret Jen? I never thought I could love someone as much as I do her. Before, I was just living life, faking everything. But now I have my reason to wake up every morning, she's the thing I look forward to. And I look forward to spending the rest of my life with her, going to college and graduating, having kids, growing old." Jenny was finally back asleep. "Thanks for listening Jenny," he whispered as he gently laid her back down in the crib. What he didn't realize was that Haley was in the doorway listening. She walked up quietly behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist. "I love you," she murmured.

"I love you too. Come on let's go back downstairs."

"So did you really mean everything you said," Haley asked when they sat back down on the couch.

"Of course I did."

"You really think of our future and having kids?"

"Yeah, I can't wait." Haley started tearing up.

"I love you," she said again. "You're the greatest."

"I know, it's all part of the charm," he smirked.

"And up until that line, a total sweetheart," Haley said as she hit his chest. He leaned down to kiss her and she deepened the kiss just in time for Jake and Peyton to walk in.

"Whoa, settle down guys. I don't want my daughter to be scarred for life. You do remember my daughter? The little girl upstairs you're supposed to be watching." Haley was blushing furiously and Nathan simply laughed.

"Yeah we didn't forget about her, she's been sleeping almost the entire time. Woke up only once and fell back asleep pretty quickly."

"Good, well thanks for doing this guys."

"No problem," Haley said. "We'll just get out of your way, see you later!"

"Wait," Peyton said. "I just wanted to tell you guys that Jake and I thought about it and we aren't going to go down to Florida. We can't be away from Jenny that long and his parents can't watch him the entire time. So thanks for inviting us, but it's not going to work out this time."

"Are you sure," Haley asked as she hugged her friend.

"Yeah, it's okay. We'll be fine, we were both just down there after all," she laughed.

"Okay, well we'll definitely have a big end of the summer blow out before school starts when we get back," Haley said. They waved goodbye and headed back for the apartment.

"You know Hales, it's not very nice to finish what you started," Nathan said when they got back to the apartment.

"What I started? I think you kissed me first!"

"Well then I want to finish," Nathan smirked as they headed towards the bedroom.

The next morning Brooke came running into the apartment. "You guys should really lock the door so that no one can get in and kill you."

"Shit," Nathan muttered as Haley knocked him off the bed looking for clothes to put on. "Thanks a lot Hales."

"Sorry," she said cheerfully as she slipped one of his shirts over her head. "You might want to cover up before you come out though." She motioned to the fact that he was sitting on the floor naked.

"Hey Tutorgirl," Brooke greeted a somewhat sleepy Haley. "Rough night?"

Haley rolled her eyes. "What are you doing here so early?"

"Wanted to spend time with my best friend! Let's go to the beach today."

"Alright, let me get changed. Go ahead and make some coffee or something." She headed back to the bedroom to find Nathan back in bed. "Hey you," she kissed him lightly and then got out her swimsuit. "I'm going to the beach with Brooke, okay?"

"What am I going to do today?"

"Sleep? You might want to be well rested for when I get back," she laughed as she started throwing things in her beach bag. "I'll be home later, call if you need me."

"Okay, and don't take off the swimsuit when you get home either. Unless I tell you to," he winked. "Have fun, love you."

"Love you too, bye." Haley headed back out to the kitchen where Brooke was reading the latest US Weekly. "Ready to go Tigger?" The girls grabbed their things and left. When they got to the beach they set their chairs up and sat down. After a few minutes, Brooke got out her cell phone.

"I should call Peyton and see if she wants to come too." While she was on the phone, Haley got out her tanning oil and rubbed it on her arms and legs. Then she heard a guy behind her.

"Want me to rub it on your back?"

"No thanks, I'll get my husband to do it," she snapped back emphasizing the word husband.

"I don't see him anywhere."

"Well when you do see him, he'll want to kick your ass so I suggest you leave," she replied not even looking at him. He finally gave up and walked away. "Men!" Haley cried out in disgust. Brooke hung up the phone and laughed.

"I'm right there with you Hales. Can't live with them, can't live without 'em!"

"Is Peyton coming?"

"Yeah she's on her way."

"What, no one invited me?" Brooke and Haley turned to see the girl they thought they had finally gotten rid of.

**What parts did you like/didn't like? I'm thinking the rest of the summer is probably going to be fluff, with small pieces of drama. I already have lots of ideas for drama when they begin their senior year, so expect the angst then! Any suggestions, please let me know!**


	13. Randomness

"I thought that trash on the beach was littering," Brooke said. "What the hell are you doing here Nikki?"

"Came to see my daughter."

"Yeah right," Haley scoffed. "Considering how Jake has sole custody of her and a restraining order against you, it should be really easy."

"I'm sure there are ways to get past that."

"What is your problem," Brooke yelled. "Why can't you just leave us all alone?"

"What fun would that be? Jenny's my daughter, not Peyton's. I have a right to see her." Haley walked up to Nikki and slapped her across the face.

"Get out of here Nikki." Nikki slapped Haley back and well, another cat fight took place, much like the one between Peyton and Nikki during Haley's party way back. Punches were being thrown, the claws were coming out. Brooke was trying to break them up but was having no luck. Peyton finally showed up and the 2 of them were able to pull Haley off of Nikki.

"I'll say it again Nikki, get the hell out of here," Haley snarled. "Stop trying to hurt everyone I love. Just leave us alone."

"You haven't seen the last of me," Nikki said and walked away, stepping in a small child's sandcastle, causing them to cry.

"What is her problem," Peyton said. "It's one thing to hurt us, but an innocent child playing on the beach? What was she doing here anyways?"

"The usual 'I'm here for my daughter' crap," Brooke replied.

"Does she ever give it up? And nice fight you put up there Hales. Definitely ranks as high as my slap fest with that bitch." Haley laughed.

"Yeah, sorry about that. If you don't mind, I think I'll just go home." She hugged the girls and left. Brooke and Peyton then sat back down to work on their tans.

"Soooo, how are things with Lucas?"

"Why does everyone keep asking me that?" She laughed. "Slow. Not rushing into things. But hopefully once he sees me in my hot new bikini in Florida, we'll be rushing into the bedroom." A smirk spread across her face.

"Ew, spare me the details," Peyton pretended to gag.

"Like you're any better goldilocks! Need I remind you of 'blink once if it was good, blink twice if it was better than that?' "

"You wanted to know!"

"Oh whatever! So why aren't you going to Florida?"

"Money's tight and we don't want to leave Jenny that long. And I was just down there, I think I'll live."

"You are so difficult! I don't know how- whoa look at that hottie!"

"Brooke! What about Lucas?"

"What about him? It's not like we're dating or anything. Besides I can look, I just can't touch."

"I will never understand you," Peyton chuckled and the two continued enjoying their afternoon at the beach.

When Haley got back to the apartment, Nathan was still in bed. She stripped down to be only in her bikini and climbed in next to him. On instinct he wrapped his arm around her waist. "Back so soon," he asked as he turned over to face her and gasped at that sight of her scratched face. "Hales, what happened to your face?"

"Oh you know, just a run-in with Nikki, the usual."

"Haley what happened? Nikki's back?"

"She found me and Brooke at the beach and I sort of slapped her and it turned into a big fight." Nathan reached over to hug her.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah I'll be fine. But I always felt better when my mom would kiss my wounds."

"Oh really?" He raised an eyebrow at her and started to kiss each scratch on her face. "And might I add that you look very sexy in that swimsuit."

"Why thank you Mr. Scott," she giggled.

"You're welcome Mrs. Scott. Now come on, lets go get you cleaned up." He led her into the kitchen and washed her face. "Geez Haley, look at your arms. You guys really got into it didn't you?" She nodded. "You kicked her ass right?"

"Of course I did. Or at least I would have if Brooke and Peyton hadn't pulled me off of her." Nathan laughed.

"Well aren't you my little fighter," he asked as he turned around looking for the first aid kit that Haley insisted they kept in the house. For once he was glad she did.

"Nate, what's that mark on your shoulder and why haven't I noticed it before?" Haley suddenly realized there was a scar on the back of his right shoulder.

"It's a scar."

"From what?"

"From…" he was hesitant to respond. "From the car accident."

"Oh," Haley sighed. "Were we ever going to talk about that?"

"What's there to talk about? I hit a wall and was rushed to the hospital. That's all."

"Why did you hit the wall? Lucas said you could have turned in the opposite direction."

"I don't know," he shrugged.

"Come on Nate, what happened out there."

"Ok do you really want to know the truth! I crashed because of you Haley. All I could think about were the good times we had and how you gave it all up for music. I wanted the pain to end." He stormed back into the bedroom. Haley wasn't sure what to do so she decided to just leave and ended up at Lucas's house again.

"What happened to you," he greeted her.

"Nice to see you too," she sniffled.

"Haley what happened? Please don't tell me Poser Boy tried anything with you again."

"No it's not that."

"Then what is it?"

"Nathan," she screamed. "He crashed and nearly died because of me. It's all my fault." Lucas wasn't really sure how to react to this. Haley was on Nathan's mind during the crash. All he could do was comfort her.

"It'll be okay. Don't I always tell you that?" She nodded. "So do you want to explain why your face is all scratched up?"

"Your favorite bar slut."

"Hey I resent that. Besides she was my only bar slut just for the record. Why is she here?"

"I'll give you 3 guesses and the first 2 don't count."

"Jenny. Jenny. Jenny." He laughed. "Wow, big shocker there. Listen, I hate to do this to you but I have to leave. I'm going up with mom to Charlotte about the new café and I have to meet her in like 5 minutes. Go home and work things out." With one last hug, Haley left and headed for the apartment. When she got there, he was still in the bedroom listening to music. It took him a few minutes to notice her in the doorway. He got up and turned the music down.

"Hey you, sorry that I went off on you like that," he apologized.

"It's alright Nathan. I upset you and I need to deal with that I guess."

"Listen, I know I said you were the reason for my crash but that's not entirely true. I crashed because of me. I felt that I wasn't good enough for you and that you found something better and chased after it. I felt like I wouldn't be good enough for anyone and decided no one would care if I crashed."

"Nathan, you probably deserve better than me. Someone that wouldn't leave you. Just don't go running cars into walls when things get bad okay? Everyone cares. Me, Lucas, your parents. I don't know what I would do without you."

"You would be very bored."

"I probably would be. So promise you won't leave me?"

"I promise."

"Good! Now get up. I didn't get to swim yet today, we're going down to the pool." As soon as they got down to the pool, Nathan threw Haley in, clothes and all. "NATHAN SCOTT," she screamed.

"What? I slipped."

"You slipped! Yeah sure, come here." She grabbed his leg and yanked him into the pool.

"Hey that wasn't nice!"

"Have I been a bad girl," Haley pouted and Nathan smirked.

"Yes you have."

"But you like it when I'm bad don't you," she whispered seductively into his ear and leaned in to kiss him. Things escalated from there. Nathan took off her wet clothes so she was only in her bikini.

"This bikini is definitely a keeper," Nathan said as he kissed Haley's neck and moved down her shoulder. Hands began to roam and a certain someone's hand untied someone else's top.

"NATHAN," she yelled as the familiar rose color came to her cheeks.

"What," he asked innocently.

"You know what! I am not—" Haley tried to ramble on but was interrupted by Nathan kissing her again. She couldn't help but melt under his touch.

"Come on Hales, we haven't christened the pool yet," Nathan said in a husky voice.

"I can't believe we just did that," Haley squealed as they ran back into the apartment. She kept going towards the bedroom. "Ready for round 2?"

"Wouldn't this be about round 4 by now," Nathan laughed as he was dragged into the room.

Peyton got home later that night from the beach. Jake was watching TV with Jenny. "Hey how was the beach?"

"Good for the most part. There's something you should know though. When I first got there, Haley was slapping the hell out of Nikki."

"Nikki? What is she doing here?"

"What do you think Jake? She wants to make our lives a living hell!"

"Well she won't be able to this time." The doorbell rang and Peyton got up to get it.

"I swear to God if this is her…" She opened the door. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm sorry I took off before. Can we talk?"

"I don't know. Are you going to tell me lies?"

"I guess I deserved that."

"You're right dad, you did deserve that. You deserve a whole lot more."

"Just hear me out Peyton. I made a mistake when I was a teenager. But that mistake gave me one of the people I love most, you. So can we just get past this and move on?"

"I'm not sure if I can handle that," she said softly. "I'll need time to think about it."

"Okay, let me know when you're ready to talk. I'll be staying with your grandmother for awhile."

"Alright, bye." Peyton headed back towards the livingroom.

"Who was that?"

"My dad."

"Oh. What did he want?"

"I don't really want to talk about it now. Come here Jenny," Peyton held out her arms to the little girl. "I can't believe she is almost 1."

"I know. We'll have to throw her a big party. Don't you want that baby girl," he asked as he tickled Jenny. The couple enjoyed their night in playing with their daughter. What they didn't know was that Nikki was right outside watching them.

A few weeks later it was time to head down to Florida. Peyton, Jake, and Jenny all showed up to say goodbye.

"Now remember, I'm a size 3 and Jenny here is a 1T," Peyton said as she hugged her best friends.

"I'll miss you Peyton Elizabeth Sawyer."

"I'll miss you too Brooke Penelope Davis."

"Haven't we had this conversation before?"

"Yes we have," Peyton laughed and then hugged Haley. "Try not to attack bar sluts on the beach."

"Shut up," Haley stuck her tongue out at Peyton. "But make sure that a certain bar slut stays away."

"I will. I think I might have learned a thing or two from you at the beach," she winked. "Have fun, love you guys!" After Nathan and Lucas said their goodbyes, everyone got into the car. Lucas was driving and Brooke was in the passenger seat.

"No funny business back there Nick and Jessica," she said. "Let's hit the road!" She popped in her favorite Britney Spears CD and started singing along. "My loneliness is killing me (And I) I must confess, I still believe…"

"Brooke do we have to listen to that," Lucas complained.

"Of course we do Broody. Come on like you don't think she's hot."

"I never said she wasn't hot, just the music…"

"Oh whatever, I know she's on the top of your soon to be MILF list," Brooke laughed. Nathan and Haley sat in the back amused at the scene in front of them.

"Why don't they just make out now," Nathan whispered into her ear. "I think everyone knows how in love they are but them."

"I know. Guess we'll just have to set them up! So are you nervous about the game?"

"A little. I haven't been able to practice as much as the other guys, but I think I'll be okay."

"You really should have gone down sooner. I could have taken care of myself."

"No, I wanted to stay with you. You mean more to me than basketball. And you coming down for this game is like my good luck charm. I play much better when you're there."

"Is that so," she smirked. She kissed him lightly and laid her head down in his lap. A couple hours later, Brooke and Haley were both asleep. Nathan was admiring his wife sleeping.

"Take a picture, it'll last longer," Lucas remarked as he looked over his shoulder.

"Don't act like you don't steal glances of Miss Wannabe Britney every 5 seconds."

"Whatever dude." The car started to slow down. "Shit! What the hell is going on?" The car came to a complete stop and wouldn't restart. Brooke began to wake up.

"Are we there already?"

"Not exactly," Lucas muttered and got out of the car. Nathan pulled out his cell phone to call for help.

An hour later, a towing company came out and got the car. The car was being sent to a local body shop and would be ready the next morning. Lucas finally found a motel to crash in. Florida would just have to wait one more day.

"Ew! There is no way in hell I am sleeping here," Brooke said when they walked in. The motel was run down and didn't look very sanitary. "Why can't we stay at the Hilton?"

"Because the Hilton was about 300 miles back in a larger city. Come on let's get some sleep."

"On that bed? Are you kidding me? I am leaving this place with a rash," Brooke declared.

"Planning on making some extra money tonight?"

Once again Haley and Nathan were entertained by yet another Brooke and Lucas scene. 'If they would just stop being so stubborn and go for it,' Haley thought to herself. "Alright you guys, just get in the bed. The sooner you go to sleep, the sooner we can get to Florida." This cheered Brooke right up.

"Actually, we're going to go on a walk," Nathan said. "Be back in a little bit." And with that, he dragged Haley out the door.

"Hey what was that?"

"Just giving them some alone time," he raised his eyebrows. Hand in hand the couple walked down the street admiring the small stores and views of the tiny town. After about an hour of walking they headed back to the motel. "After you," Nathan said while opening the door.

"Oh you're such a gentlem—" She shut up when she realized what was going on.

Brooke lying on top of Lucas with her shirt off was what they were witnessing.

**So I think this was a really random chapter. lol Wasn't really sure what to write about, but what else is new! Hopefully it is setting some things up for future chapters. I'm thinking the next 2 chapters will be Florida and the end of summer which will all be fluff. Then school will probably start, so expect drama. Suggestions for things you want to happen in Florida are welcome! Thanks for reading!**


	14. Florida

"And what do we have here," Nathan smirked.

"Superstar, don't act like we've never walked in on you two like this."

"We know that," Haley cut in. "But how did this happen?"

_-Flashback-_

_As soon as Haley and Nathan left, Brooke jumped on Lucas, kissing him passionately._

"_Ok, not that I mind this, but what's going on," he said stopping her._

"_Don't you want this Broody?"_

"_You know I do, but are you sure about this?"_

"_Of course I'm sure. I've had feelings for you for a long time and everyone knew it but me."_

"_Remind me to thank the whoever told you to look at your feelings."_

"_Ok, let me call Peyton really quick."_

"_On second thought," he leaned back in to kiss her. _

_-End of Flashback-_

"So just like that you're…" Haley shrugged not knowing what to say.

"Back together," Brooke finished. "Love is worth fighting for, risking everything for. And if you don't risk anything, you risk even more."

"Awww," Haley and Nathan chimed in. "How long did it take you to come up with that?"

"Shut up Nathan! And it was the voiceover quote on my favorite show last week. I guess I took it to heart."

"Finally," Haley cheered. "It took you guys long enough to figure it out!"

"We know, you keep reminding us," Lucas said. "Can we go to bed now?"

"Last time we told you guys to do that you did the opposite," Haley pointed out and Brooke rolled her eyes.

"You just aren't going to let this one go, are you tutorgirl?"

"Nope! Night guys." The 4 all got into their beds and fell asleep quickly. They woke up bright and early the next morning to continue the remainder of their trip to Florida.

"I am so glad to get out of that dump," Brooke exclaimed and ran towards the car. "First one there gets to pick the music!" Lucas took off after her but she was already in the car.

"Damn," he muttered. Brooke rolled down the window and stuck her tongue out at him.

"You lose Broody. Good thing I brought my Jessica Simpson CD's!"

"Will they ever give it up," Nathan asked.

"It's Brooke. What do you think? Now come on let's go," Haley cheered. All of them piled into the car and the pop music was blaring as they drove off. Nathan was playing a basketball game on his phone leaving Haley quite bored. Then her phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Beat anyone up yet?"

"Peyton," she squealed. "And no I haven't. We actually aren't there yet."

"I know Lucas drives slowly, but come on!"

"Hey I heard that!" Lucas shouted back and Haley giggled.

"No we had car troubles and stayed at a motel. And let me tell you, we found great entertainment."

"Like what?"

"Lucas and Brooke. Minus a couple of articles of clothing." Peyton screamed out of excitement. "Thanks, now I'm deaf in one ear. Brooke, I think Peyton wants to talk to you." She handed Brooke her phone.

"Hey P. Sawyer!"

"Hey slut! What is this with you and Lucas?"

"Oh you know, a little sex on the beach, screaming orgasms, the usual."

"I hope you are talking about drinks Brooke," Nathan said.

"Just kidding," she continued. "Let's just say we expressed our feelings. And I mean that literally, not in a sexual way."

"Finally," Peyton squealed.

"Why does everyone keep saying that?" Brooke sighed. "So how's Jake and Jenny?"

"Great! We miss you guys though. Tell Nathan and Haley I think Jenny wants them to come back and babysit her again."

"No, she wants me to babysit so I can corrupt her little mind," Brooke said evilly. Then Jake could be heard yelling back in the background. "Brooke, I think sending her the first season of Nip/Tuck on DVD will be enough for now." Peyton couldn't stop laughing.

"Well, I'll let you go! Have fun and buy us lots of gifts!" The girls got off the phone and Brooke handed it back to Haley.

"Lucas! What is with this music!" While on the phone Lucas switched the CD. "It's bad enough I've had to put up with Peyton listening to this all these years but now you too? Glad I brought my entire stash of CD's so I can educate you. It's time you learned the meaning of MMMBop," Brooke said as she put a Hanson CD in. Lucas just sighed. "Kill me now," he muttered.

Haley and Nathan had fallen asleep in the back. Haley was sprawled out across the entire backseat on top of Nathan. Brooke noticed this and nudged Lucas to look. They both smiled at each other at the sight. So many months Lucas put up with a depressed Nathan and now he was happier than ever. Both were glad that they worked out their differences. They deserved to be happy. Nathan putting up with his dad all these years and Haley always being treated as if she was beneath everyone else. Brooke was glad she had found another friend, but she didn't have to always play nice; She reached over and honked the horn causing both Nathan and Haley to jump. "What the hell?" Nathan said.

"Oops, my bad," Brooke said innocently. "But we're here! Come on let's go check in!" She and Haley ran inside leaving the boys to get their bags. After getting their keys, they all went up to their room.

"Well I have to go meet with the coaches about the game so I'll catch up with you guys later," Nathan said.

"Okay," Haley kissed him. "Love you, have fun."

"Love you too, bye guys!"

"Alright, let's hit the beach," Brooke cheered.

"You have too much energy Brooke," Haley commented.

"That's because she's Cheery," Lucas grinned.

"How cheesy," Brooke laughed and kissed him. A few minutes later, Haley had enough.

"Coming up for air anytime soon?" They broke apart.

"Sorry Hales. Let's go! Lucas you can come too if you want."

"Nah, I think I'll go to Nathan's practice just to see what it's like."

"Alright, if you insist," Brooke shrugged. "We'll be working on our tans." The girls ran out of the room giggling.

They got to the beach and set up their chairs. "I'm having a feeling of déjà vu," Haley said.

"Me too," Brooke laughed. "I just hope that physcopath doesn't show up!" The girls sat down and started rubbing tanning oil on themselves. "So how are you Haley? And tell me the truth…"

"I'm great. Never been happier."

"I'm glad, you deserve it."

"You deserve it too," Haley protested. "After everything you went through in the last 6 months!"

"Yeah I guess. So what was the tour like? Were the guys just falling at your feet? That would be the life!"

"Brooke! I would never do that," she exclaimed horrified.

"I'm just saying…"

"I wouldn't do that to myself and I especially wouldn't do that to Nathan. I already hurt him once by just leaving."

"You hurt a lot of people when you left Haley."

"I know, Lucas was pretty mad at me too."

"Yeah, but that's not what I meant. You left me too," Brooke began.

"But I—"

"Just listen. For years it has always been me and Peyton. She was the only one who liked me for me. She didn't care about how much money I had or what I looked like. She was my only true friend."

"Brooke you have tons of friends."

"But how many of them could I trust? How did I know they weren't just using me to be popular? Then you came along and I had a new friend. Hales, I don't get serious like this very often but you and Peyton are my only friends. You saw past the popular cheerleader and saw a person. And when you left, you left me behind too."

"Aw Tigger, I never meant to hurt you," Haley reached over to hug her. "I'm sorry if you think I left you but I didn't mean to. I left to follow a dream and now I realized I have everything I need in Tree Hill."

"Don't ever leave us behind again okay?"

"I promise," Haley smiled.

"Good! So did you see the new Elle Girl magazine…" 'How can one person be so happy all the time,' Haley wondered.

Back at the gym, everyone started cheering when Nathan walked in. Milt West and the coaches all came over to talk to him.

"Hey Nathan, how are you? How's the wife?"

"Great! She came down with me, along with my brother and his girlfriend." Then Lucas walked in. "Actually, there's my brother now. Hey Luke."

"Hey, sorry am I interrupting? I'll come back later."

"No it's okay," Milt said. "I just need to give him some details about the game. Nathan you're on the blue team, Mike is the captain. He'll give you plays and all that. Game starts at 7 tomorrow night! So glad you decided to come back."

"I'm excited to be here," Nathan said and then went over to join his team in practice. Lucas took a seat and watched. "Watch and learn big brother," Nathan smirked and Lucas just laughed.

At the game the next night… "Mike Smith passes the ball to Nathan Scott at the 3 point line, he shoots… and it's good! The blue team takes the win over the white team." Everyone on the blue team surrounded Nathan cheering. Haley, Brooke, and Lucas, all decked out in blue, were standing up and cheering as well. "That's my husband," Haley screamed. Milt West then took the microphone and went to center court.

"Thank you all for coming out and supporting these wonderful players. I believe they have a few words to say."

Charlie stepped up first. "I would like to thank my mom for cheating on her husband. Because if that hadn't happened, none of you would have been graced with my presence." Mike got up and shoved him away, taking the microphone from his hands.

"Thanks to everyone who believed in us enough to get us to this point. We all appreciate it." He then handed the phone to Nathan.

"You know, it took a lot for me to get here. When I first got my letter, I turned down the acceptance. I didn't think I could last 3 months away from my wife…"

"You mean 3 months without any sex," Charlie yelled out and Mike told him to shut up.

"That too," Nathan laughed. "A lot of things have happened since I first turned it down including my wife going after her own dreams. My wife is a hell of a singer for those that didn't know and she's prepared something for you all tonight." Haley was shocked and turned to Brooke and Lucas who tried to look innocent.

"I am not singing," she protested but Lucas picked her up and carried her down. Someone rolled out a keyboard and she got ready to play.

_It's October again __  
__Leaves are comin down __  
__One more year's come and gone, and nothing's changed at all __  
__Wasn't I supposed to be someone who could face the things that I've been running from? _

_Let me feel, I don't care if I break down __  
__Let me fall even if I hit the ground __  
__And if I cry a little, die a little, at least I know I lived __  
__Just a little _

_I've become much too good at being vincible __  
__I'm an expert at play-it-safe and keep-it-cool __  
__But I swear this isn't who I'm meant to be __  
__I refuse to let my life rule over me _

_Let me feel, I don't care if I break down __  
__Let me fall even if I hit the ground __  
__And if I cry a little, die a little, at least I know I lived __  
__Just a little _

_I wanna be somebody, I wanna be somebody, I wanna be somebody __  
__I wanna be somebody __  
__Who can face the things that I've been running from __  
__Let me feel, I don't care if I break down __  
__Let me fall even if I hit the ground __  
__And if I cry a little, die a little, at least I know I lived __  
__It's October again __  
__Leaves are comin down __  
__One more year's come and gone, and nothing's changed at all_

When she hit the last note, everyone cheered and Nathan spoke again. "To me, this song means live life to the fullest and never taking anything for granted. Because when something bad happens, you'll remember the good days. You need to take risks. A friend of mine once said to me 'If you don't risk anything, you risk even more.' And I believe in that." Brooke, Haley, and Lucas all smiled at the memory as Nathan continued. "My wife was one of the only people who believed in me and I can never thank her enough for that. All I can say to her now is…" He turned to Haley who now had tears in her eyes and pulled out a small box. "Will you marry me, again?" He opened the box to reveal a gorgeous ring. It was silent and Haley was in shock. She then broke out into a huge grin and squealed, "YES!" Nathan slid the ring onto her finger. She jumped in his arms and he spun her around. The crowd broke out into cheers once again. Brooke ran over to Haley and said, "Let me see the rock!" The two admired and giggled at what had just happened. Lucas gave Nathan a pat on the back.

"The plan worked out just fine little brother."

"Yes it did. Thanks for your help Luke." The guys went over and picked up their girls. "Let's celebrate!" They all went back to their hotel to change to go out to dinner. At the restaurant there was an open mic for anyone who wanted to sing. Haley saw it immediately and warned Nathan.

"Don't get any ideas. I'm not going up there!"

"I wouldn't think of it," Nathan said. The 4 were seated and their orders were taken.

"My mom called me today," Lucas began. "Remember Chris's hearing was today?" The other 3 nodded. "He got a year in jail and a year of probation."

"As much as I hoped he would be locked up forever, I guess a year in prison will work," Nathan said and Haley agreed.

"So now we have even more to celebrate," Brooke cheered. "Break out the champagne!"

After they finished eating, Nathan and Lucas excused themselves to go to the bathroom. "And I thought girls had to in groups," Brooke laughed. Her laughter soon died down though when someone took the stage. "Hi everyone! I'm Tom, the manager here, and I would just like to introduce the next act. All the way from Tree Hill, North Carolina, Nathan and Lucas Scott." Haley and Brooke were both shocked to say the least. Nathan spoke into the microphone first.

"We would like to dedicate this song to 2 very beautiful ladies, Haley and Brooke."

"We love you guys," Lucas added and the music started. Each brother took a different verse and then they joined in together at the chorus.

_The strands in your eyes that color them wonderful __  
__Stop me and steal my breath __  
__Emeralds from mountains thrust toward the sky __  
__Never revealing their depth __  
__Tell me that we belong together __  
__Dress it up with the trappings of love __  
__I'll be captivated __  
__I'll hang from your lips __  
__Instead of the gallows of heartache that hang from above ___

_I'll be your crying shoulder __  
__I'll be love's suicide __  
__I'll be better when I'm older __  
__I'll be the greatest fan of your life ___

_Rain falls angry on the tin roof __  
__As we lie awake in my bed __  
__You're my survival, you're my living proof __  
__My love is alive not dead __  
__Tell me that we belong together __  
__Dress it up with the trappings of love __  
__I'll be captivated I'll hang from your lips __  
__Instead of the gallows of heartache, that hang from above ___

_I'll be your crying shoulder __  
__I'll be love's suicide __  
__I'll be better when I'm older __  
__I'll be the greatest fan of your life_

While they were singing the song, Haley's thoughts took her back to the date she and Nathan had when the first made up. This was the song they danced to and Nathan knew it was one of her favorite songs. Brooke's thoughts also took her back to when she and Lucas were dating. It was a wonderful night. He surprised her on her birthday and they also danced to the song. Both girls started to cry. They had the best boyfriend/husband a girl could ask for. When they finished the song, the girls ran up to them on stage and hugged them. The other customers at the restaurant applauded. "Well that's 2 successful shows today," Nathan smirked.

The next day they were packed and ready to drive back to Tree Hill. "I'll miss you 5 star hotel, I'll miss you beach, I'll miss you hot lifeguards that should have been on Baywatch," Brooke said as they drove off. Everyone laughed. "Nice," Nathan said as Lucas pretended to be shocked.

"Just kidding Broody, you're way hotter than them."

"Please don't inflate his ego Brooke," Haley said.

"Don't worry, I won't! Next lesson in pop music; Genie in a Bottle," Brooke declared as she put a CD into the player.

"It's going to be a long trip home," Nathan sighed.

**Thanks to Marissa, Summer, Seth, and Ryan for going to TJ on the OC. Their roadtrip was the inspiration for this roadtrip in the last 2 chapters. Song Credit: Let Me Fall –Bethany Joy Lenz and once again I'll Be –Edwin McCain**

**So the Brooke/Lucas thing was lame, but I don't care right now. I just wanted to get them together and that's the bottom line! Hope this chapter was okay. The next one will be the last week of summer. Probably almost entirely fluff. Comments are appreciated!**


	15. One Last Hoorah

**_Chapter 15! Finally! I don't really like this chapter. But I'm ready for summer to end so this is what I came up with and it was frustrating. Lots of cheesiness in this, so be prepared! Next chapter will probably be the first week of school. So please R&R! Let me know what you want to happen during their senior year! Thanks for reading!_**

**_Thanks to username1 for letting me steal some of her ideas! _**

"Did you really think you could break us up?"

"I was just putting your love to the test."

"Oh what fucking ever!" Nathan yelled at his dad. "And forging someone's signature is illegal, but I'm sure you know all about that right? Considering how your entire business is illegal!"

"What do you want me to say son? I'm sorry."

"Like I believe that! Why did you do it?"

"I just wanted my son back. I lost both of my sons in the last year."

"No dad, you lost us a long time ago," Nathan remarked and left. It was a few days after they had gotten back from Florida. Nathan went to confront Dan about the annulment papers and couldn't get a real response. 'I give up,' Nathan thought and headed for the café. When he got there he snuck up behind Haley who's back was turned to him.

"What do you say to dinner tonight?"

"No thanks sir," she replied her back still turned.

"Even for me?" Nathan smirked and she turned around.

"Even for you," Haley smirked back. "Actually, we already have plans for tonight."

"Oh really? And what are they?"

"Bonfire at the beach with everyone. Last party of the year."

"Who's everyone?" Nathan was almost afraid to ask.

"Lucas, Brooke, Jake, and Peyton. The gang. Not the entire senior class if that is what you were thinking. Tim might come too."

"Just wondered," he let out a sigh of relief. He wanted the summer to end on a good note with his closest friends.

"Hey sweetie, how are you?" Deb walked over to the couple.

"Hey mom, I'm good. Actually I need to talk to you." The 2 sat down while Haley went back to the kitchen. "Did you know about the annulment papers?"

"What annulment papers?"

"Apparently you didn't," Nathan laughed. "Dan drew up annulment papers and tried to get me to sign. This was way back while you were in rehab. I refused to sign. He decided to sign for me and took the papers to Haley."

"Oh, Nate I'm sorry. This is all my fault. If I hadn't had to have gone to rehab, I could have stopped him."

"It's not your fault mom, don't worry about. I just wanted to make sure you weren't a part of it."

"I would never do something to hurt you. Besides, I've been secretly rooting for you and Haley for a long time now, I'm not going to the dark side," she chuckled.

"Good to hear," Nathan smiled. "I guess I'll go then. See you later. Hales I'll come pick you up after your shift."

"What are you going to do?"

"I don't know. Maybe go down to the rivercourt or something."

"Okay, love you."

"Love you too, bye." Nathan left the café and went to go shoot some hoops.

That night the 7 teens went to the beach for one last summer bonfire. Everyone was enjoying spending time with their closest friends.

"This year is going to rock," Brooke said. "We're finally seniors! Can you believe it?"

"Yeah we get to beat up on all the freshmen," Nathan said and received a death glare from Haley. "I mean, not physically," he recovered quickly. "Just some harmless teasing."

"I'm sure," Haley rolled her eyes. "I can't believe it's our last year all together. Next year we'll all probably be going to different colleges and only see each other on holidays."

"Well we won't let that happen," Lucas said.

"Yeah, but just in case, once we graduate we should make a pact to meet back here in 5 years or something," Jake added and everyone agreed.

"Great," Brooke cheered. "Now let's play a game!" She passed out pieces of paper. "Everyone has to look at the word on your paper and tell a story that involves it."

"I'll go first," Peyton said. "My word is whip cream. Of course it's whip cream, Brooke Davis came up with these words!" Everyone laughed. "Hmm.. Which story should I tell?"

"It better not involve me," Jake remarked and Peyton laughed.

"No actually this one doesn't involve any guys. Just us girls." Haley buried her head in her hands.

"No, Peyton, please don't."

"Too late," Nathan said. "I want to hear!"

"Well it was at our slumber party we had when you guys when to Charlotte," Peyton began.

_-Flashback-_

"_Shh," Peyton giggled. "We can't wake them up." Anna and Peyton were quietly walking around the apartment and went to open the refrigerator. They found a few cans of whip cream._

"_I bet anything they don't use these for pies," Anna laughed. _

"_You're probably right," Peyton laughed too and handed her 2 cans of whip cream. "Okay, you take Haley, I've got Brooke." They giggled and high-fived. Each girl stood over Haley and Brooke and started covering them in whip cream. Their arms, legs, faces, all covered. After they finished the job, they put the cans back and went back to sleep._

_The next morning Peyton and Anna made sure they were awake first so they could witness the other two's reactions. Haley was the first to get up._

"_Nathan, put the whip cream away for later," she said half asleep and then suddenly snapped awake. "Ew!" She screamed, causing Brooke to wake up who screamed as well. Anna and Peyton were enjoying every minute of this snapping pictures the entire time. _

"_I'm going to get you for this P. Sawyer," Brooke yelled and ran over to hug her. Haley did the same and hugged Anna. The girls couldn't stop laughing and took more pictures to remember the incident._

_-End of Flashback-_

"Then Brooke said, 'We're all dirty, let's shower together!' so we did," Peyton finished and all 4 guys practically jumped out of their seats and yelled "WHAT?"

"Why wasn't I invited," Tim asked and the girls erupted into laughter.

"Just kidding guys, that never happened," Peyton laughed. "Just wanted to see your reactions."

"So Haley, you and Nathan use whip cream a lot," Jake asked and Haley blushed.

"Please, don't answer that," Lucas covered his ears and everyone laughed again. "Here I'll go next. My word is doorbell. How did you come up with these words Brooke?"

"I don't know. Just whatever popped into my head."

"Well I don't know if I have a story that involves a door—oh wait, I do have a story, unfortunately."

_-Flashback-_

"_Hey Nathan. I'm meeting the guys down at the rivercourt, do you want to—AHH!" Lucas yelled as he walked into the apartment. "Damnit you guys! I come over to see if Nathan wants to play ball and you're going at it like rabbits!" He screamed as he ran out of the room. _

"_It's called a doorbell Luke," Nathan yelled back._

"_Yeah, whatever. I'm going to go try and erase this from my memory. I'll be at the court if you ever take a break."_

_-End of Flashback-_

Brooke howled with laughter. "You walked in on them Broody?"

"Yeah," he sighed. "And let's just say I've always used a doorbell since."

"Do they really go at it that often?" Haley blushed furiously again and Nathan chuckled.

"Jealous Brooke?"

"No, just wondered. Okay, my turn! My word is money."

"Oh that's too easy," Peyton protested. "You better come up with a good story other than I lost my money this year."

"Don't worry, I've got a good one. This was at the beginning of the basketball season and me and our friend Timmy here had a little bet," she began.

_-Flashback-_

"_So all I have to do is offer her money?" Tim asked eagerly._

"_Well then she has to agree to sleep with you. As in she's a prostitute so you need to pay her for her services," Brooke laughed._

"_Alright, well start stripping Brooke because it looks like I'm going to bag 2 women tonight," Tim licked his lips and walked over to the bet._

"_Hi Deb," Tim greeted her. _

"_Oh hi Tim. How are you?"_

"_Good, great actually. Could we maybe talk somewhere a little more private?" Tim wiggled his eyebrows. _

"_Sure, let's go to one of the back rooms. So what can I do for you?"_

"_Me."_

"_Excuse me?" Tim held up a couple hundred dollar bills. _

"_What do you say Mrs. Scott?"_

_-End of Flashback-_

"Dude, please don't tell me you slept with my mom," Nathan interrupted.

"Hold on superstar, I wasn't finished with the story," Brooke protested. "I was right out in the hallway watching, because Tim being the guy he is, left the door open. So I see her slap him across the face and knee him in the groin and leave the room." Everyone burst out laughing.

"It's not funny," Tim pouted. "That was the most painful bet I ever took part in."

"Yes it was. Since I won the bet, I took him with me the next time I went for my full body wax."

"It all makes sense now," Nathan said. "You seemed oddly comfortable when we went there for Dare Night but you tried to act all macho afterwards."

"You got a full body wax," Haley raised an eyebrow at him.

"No, I bailed after seeing what she did to Tim." Everyone laughed. "Wow Brooke, we've had some wild bets before but that one tops them all."

"I'm just that good, what can I say?"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever! Alright my turn," Nathan said. "Florida."

"Why are they all getting ones that fit with their life?" Jake asked.

"You're just complaining because you know what I'm going to say. Unfortunately my incident is about as bad as Luke's experience."

_-Flashback-_

_It was the night after Peyton and Jake first saw each other in Florida. That night they all had plans to watch movies and pig out on junk food. Nathan and Haley had run to the store to get snacks and were headed back for the hotel. _

"_We're back," Haley yelled as they entered the room. "Good God. Cover up," she squealed and ran out of the room._

"_What's going on Haley," Nathan asked as he carried the rest of the bags in the door. _

"_Those 2 couldn't last 3 hours without having sex!"_

"_Hales, the same could be said about us you know!"_

_-End of Flashback-_

"You walked in on them?" Lucas laughed.

"That's not all," Nathan added. "Then Jake comes out with clothes on and there's this bulge in his shirt. So I ask him about it and he gets all red and says that nothing is in there. Then he headed for the refrigerator and a bottle of chocolate syrup and a tub of whip cream fell out!"

"Go P. Sawyer," Brooke cheered. "After all these years I finally rubbed off on you!"

"And you made fun of me for the whip cream," Haley pointed out. "I'll go next. My word is teacher."

"That's too easy," Peyton said.

"No this is a good one trust me," Haley began.

_-Flashback-_

_Haley had finished up tutoring her last student of the day. It was almost 8pm, she was hardly ever there that late. Then she realized she was supposed to see the biology teacher about an upcoming project. She walked down the hall to the biology room and opened the door. There on top of the desk doing things you do not want to see your teachers doing was the biology teacher Ms. Sicker and the principal Mr. Turner._

_-End of Flashback-_

"You poor thing," Brooke said. "The things your eyes have had to witness!"

"Wait," Nathan laughed. "When did this happen? Why didn't you ever tell me?"

"It was a long time ago."

"Oh and isn't Mr. Turner married?" Everyone burst out laughing

"Ms. Sicker's hot," Tim said causing everyone to yell out in disgust. "Alright I'll go. My word is staircase. What the hell Brooke?" She simply shrugged.

"I know one," Peyton said. "Remember at that one party last summer with that girl who was obsessed with Nathan?"

"Yes," Tim exclaimed. "I know one now! We had been at this party and Nathan got really drunk and there was this girl…"

"Don't Tim," Nathan warned.

"I want to hear," Haley argued.

"Anyways," Tim continued. "This girl was all over Nathan, spilling out of her 10 sizes too small top. They were heading up the stairs, making out and groping each other, it was quite the show. So they get to the top of the stairs and the girl gives him this last big kiss and pushes him down the stairs. Then her boyfriend comes over and they start making out and head into one of the bedrooms. Seems like they had a bet!"

Haley laughed the loudest. "Nathan Scott player of all players, played by some chick?"

"I was drunk. She was a waste of time anyways. Everyone was until you," he kissed the top of her forehead.

"Hmm. Good answer."

"I remember that," Jake said. "Didn't someone get it all on camera?" That caused everyone to laugh again. "I'd pay good money to watch Haley watch that."

"Hey," she protested.

"Kidding. Anyways, I guess it's my turn... My word is ice cream. Hmm. What could I do with this?"

"Don't even go there," Brooke warned.

"Why not? It's short and simple, not a lot of details. At a party last year, a certain brunette got wasted beyond belief and decided it would be a good idea to do ice cream shots."

"Haley!" Brooke screeched. "You never get wasted when I'm around."

"Very funny Brooke. But we all know I'm talking about you. So they filled shot glasses with ice cream, except they mixed different ice creams together so there were like 10 flavors in a glass. It was kind of hard to get it down so Brooke decided to do body shots instead. She took off her top and laid down on the table. Some random guy got out the ice cream scooper and started putting scoops all over her and then more random guys came and licked each one off." By the time he was done everyone was dying of laughter. Nathan and Peyton had also been at that party.

"I remember that," Peyton said. "You were like 'Peyton take off your clothes with me! It's fun Peyt come on!' But luckily I didn't listen to you!"

"Wow you guys were crazy," Haley commented.

"Yeah, but not anymore really," Brooke said.

"Not anymore? Are you kidding me?"

"Okay well not as crazy. And I wouldn't give this up to go back to that life either."

"Aww," Lucas said. "Is someone getting all sentimental on us?"

"What? You guys are like my best friends ever."

"Group hug," Peyton cheered. They all got up and hugged each other. "Must be a dream come true huh Tim? You inbetween all us fine girls."

"Don't get any ideas Tim," Haley warned. "But Brooke's right. Last year we hardly knew each other and now look at us."

"Promise we'll always be like this," Peyton said. The girls were all getting tears in their eyes. And each guy promised.

They all decided it was time to go home. As much as they didn't want summer to end, it had to at some point. Each couple, well except for Tim, headed back to their homes. Last summer, none of them would have thought that they would be living with their loved one. None of them thought they would have made friends with the people they did. No one would have thought Lucas would become star of the basketball team, Brooke Davis would be broke, outcast Haley would marry legend player Nathan, or Peyton's real mother would show up. And last summer, no one would have thought that Jake would be a father. Maybe their plans didn't turn out the way they hoped, but in their opinion, things turned out even better.

**Told you, lots of cheese! Suggestions please!**


	16. We're Seniors!

**Hey all, sorry for the wait! Just been an incredibly busy week and on top of it all I was really sick. Still not feeling great but I'm bored and wanted you guys to have something! **

**I've had a lot of people suggest that either Haley or Brooke get raped for a storyline. Honestly, I'm not ready for that. That just takes the story on a whole other level. And if I would do that storyline, I'm doing it right. It's not going to be like "Ok she got raped, lets move on to the next storyline." Obviously there are lots of consequences that would need to be dealt with and I don't think that I am that good of a writer yet to be able to handle it. So thanks for the suggestion, but most likely not going to happen! **

**I came so close to stopping this story! Luckily some people came up with some suggestions for the story and I think I love my story too much to give it up completely! lol If I could have thought of an idea for a new fic, I probably would have stopped, but I had nothing. So here's an update!**

"Morning mom."

"Morning Lucas. Ready for senior year," Karen asked as she handed him coffee.

"I guess so. Not looking forward to all the actual schoolwork though."

"It'll go by before you know it. Anyways, breakfast is ready. Why don't you go wake Brooke up?"

Lucas went into what used to be his room to see Brooke lying there.. He went over and kissed her. "Time to wake up beautiful."

"We're seniors!" Brooke cheered as she hopped out of bed.

"Who would have thought you would be so enthusiastic this early in the morning?"

"Shut up Broody," she went over and sat in his lap. "We're finally seniors! This is going to be the best year ever."

"Because you're with me?"

"No way. Carlos is the one for me. You're just convenient for the moment," she giggled.

"Very funny. Come here," he kissed her again. They fell backwards on the bed and continued making out until they heard a certain someone come in.

"What did you do, fall back asleep? Oh my God," Karen gasped.

**-OTH-**

"Go on in Jenny," Peyton let the little girl crawl onto the bed. "Wake up daddy." Jenny got on top of Jake and started bouncing on him. Peyton couldn't control her laughter.

"What's going on," Jake said sleepily.

"Dada." Yes it was true. Jenny had said her first words a few weeks earlier. Her vocabulary was limited however to Mama, Dada, and girl. Brooke tried to teach her how to say tutorgirl, but she couldn't quite get the whole thing yet.

"Hey baby girl," Jake got up and hugged his daughter. "What are you doing up so early?"

"She wanted to see her daddy off to start his senior year," Peyton said. "Come on Jenny, let's go get you ready. Jake we have to leave in 20 minutes to take her to your parents."

"Alright, alright. But where is my good morning from you?" She leaned down to kiss him. "Good morning. Now get dressed." Jenny just giggled.

**-OTH-**

Haley got out of the shower to find her husband still sleeping. "Nathan, get up," she yelled.

"I'm up, I'm up," he mumbled not moving.

"If you were up you wouldn't be missing out on this," she dropped her towel. He opened one eye slowly and when he saw her, he got right up. Haley giggled and ran into the bathroom with clothes.

"Tease," he yelled and got out of the bed. He walked into the bathroom.

"Well my idea worked," Haley smirked.

"Whatever, I need to shower. Care to join me?"

"I already took one Nathan. Besides, we really can't be late on the first day. Now hurry up." She smacked his butt and left the bathroom.

**-OTH-**

"Wait, she walked in on you," Haley heard Peyton say as she and Nathan approached everyone at school.

"Hey girlies, what's going on?"

"Brooke was just about to tell me how Karen walked in on her and Lucas making out this morning?"

"She walked in on you?" Haley squealed. "Give us details."

"Well she asked how long it had been going on, which it's been almost a month. Then she set all these rules about how we couldn't step foot in the other's room or we would be grounded."

"Harsh," Peyton commented. Jake and Nathan were teasing Lucas about getting walked in on as well. Then the bell rang.

"Senior year is beginning," Brooke cheered.

"I never thought I'd see the day Brooke Davis was happy about school," Haley said.

"First time for everything! What class do you guys have first?"

"I have art," Peyton said.

"And I have world studies," Haley rolled her eyes.

"I have world studies too! Let's go tutorgirl! See you Peyton!" And everyone took off in their separate ways, not knowing what the year would bring.

Haley and Brooke headed into their first class and found empty seats. "Okay, I know I said I was excited to start senior year, but I changed my mind," Brooke said.

"Too late," Haley laughed.

"What do you have 6th period? Because the rest of us all have basketball or cheerleading."

"I know, that's why I made sure I had study hall that period so I can hang out in the gym."

"You are a smart one."

"Have you been calling me tutorgirl for nothing?" The teacher then walked in and silenced everyone to begin class. The day went on smoothly and everyone met up again at lunch. Haley and Lucas were already sitting at a table waiting for the others.

"Heard your mom caught you this morning loverboy," Haley smirked.

"Yeah, yeah, rub it in. At least this way I don't have to think of a way to tell her."

"Tell who what," Tim asked as he joined them.

"His mom about him and Brooke dating."

"You and Brooke are dating? I thought you liked Peyton!" Lucas and Haley rolled their eyes. Tim would never learn. Eventually everyone else joined them at the table.

"Ready for cheer tryouts today," Peyton said sarcastically to Brooke.

"Don't even remind me. We'll probably get a bunch of no good freshmen who can't do a cartwheel."

"Hey! I can't do a cartwheel," Haley cut in and everyone laughed. "What? I can't!" Nathan kissed her gently. "We know," he chuckled. "We've seen you attempt them." She punched his chest. "Ow!" This just caused everyone to laugh more.

"For once I'm actually looking forward to basketball," Lucas said.

"That's just because when we win our game on in 2 weeks you'll be getting victory sex," Jake laughed.

"So will you," Lucas pointed out and Jake stopped laughing.

"Boys!" Peyton sighed.

"I hear you," Haley said. "Anyways I have to go do some stuff at the tutoring center so I'll see you later!" Everyone said their goodbyes and Nathan left with Haley.

"Nathan you really don't need to come. I just have to organize some of my files before I tutor some people later this week."

"It's okay, besides without me you can't do this." He pushed her into the tutoring center and started to kiss her passionately. She broke away saying, "We can't do this here! How many times do I have to tell you?"

"They know we're married! It should be aloud." Haley rolled her eyes and the bell rang signaling the end of the lunch period.

"You should go. We have to get to class."

"Fine, I'll kiss you later," he winked and walked away.

When 6th period rolled around, Haley went down to the library to check in. 6th period was the time when basketball players and cheerleaders would practice, instead of having regular gym class. Since she wasn't a cheerleader, she could wander the halls until 7th. When she got to the library there was only one other girl that she didn't recognize in there. Haley felt bad and walked over to her.

"Hi, I'm Haley," she said cheerfully.

"Ashley."

"Are you new to Tree Hill High? I don't think I've seen you around before."

"Yeah I'm new. My dad got a job here and we had to move even though it was my senior year."

"Aw I'm sorry. Well you can meet my friends! Come on, we can sign out and go to the gym." Haley thought the girl seemed nice and felt it couldn't hurt to expand her group of friends. Little did she know what would unfold.

When they got to the gym, practice was already in full swing. The guys were running up and down the court and Brooke and Peyton were teaching the girls a cheer for the tryouts.

"Tutorgirl," Brooke exclaimed. "Why don't you come help us with the cheer tryouts?" She asked with a pleading look.

"Um, I'll pass, but this is Ashley," she motioned to the girl next to her. "She's new here and doesn't know many people yet."

"Hey I'm Peyton," the blonde waved. "And this is Brooke." Brooke just glared at the girl. Something was off and she wasn't sure what it was.

"Well, we'll let you get back to practice," Haley said and they walked over to the bleachers to sit.

"The guys on the team are cute," Ashley stated. "Especially number 3. Who's that?"

"That's Lucas, but let me warn you, he's taken. So don't even go there," Haley rolled her eyes. Whitey called a timeout to let the guys get a drink of water and Nathan came over to Haley.

"Hey you," he said as he hugged her.

"Ew, don't Nate you're all sweaty!" Ashley then cleared her throat. "Oh, Nathan this is Ashley, Ashley this is Nathan."

"Hi, nice to meet you," she said as she shook Nathan's hand. "I think I'm going to go back to the library to catch up on some work, I'll see you later."

After she left, the questions began. "Who was that Hales?"

"I just met her earlier today, she's new and doesn't have a lot of friends so be nice."

"You might have to bribe me," Nathan said innocently and leaned in to kiss her.

"Oh whatever," she muttered as they kissed.

"Save it for later Scott," Whitey blew his whistle signaling the end of the break. "Get your ass back out on this court."

**-OTH-**

"Jessie Ferris totally had a nose job," Brooke said. They were all hanging out at the café the next week after school.

"No she didn't!"

"She definitely did!"

"Hey Karen," Peyton said as the petite woman approached their table.

"Hi Peyton, hi everyone. Get everyone the usual?" They all nodded. "Okay I'll bring it out when it's done." They had all spent so much time at the café, Karen knew what they liked. They all loved that about her. She was like a second mother, taking care of everyone.

"Big game this Friday," Brooke cheered. "You boys ready?"

"Hell yeah," Nathan replied. "This is Masonboro we're talking about. We always beat them."

"Except for that time you lost in the playoffs you mean?" Everyone laughed.

"Whatever. They just better be ready to have their asses kicked." Lucas and Jake nodded in agreement.

"Overconfident, are we? We'll see about that. And I know that Stacy Burlas is throwing a party after the game, she mentioned it at cheerleading today."

"Awesome, we'll be there," Lucas said.

"Did I say you were invited? Cool people only." Lucas pretended to be shocked.

"So why are you with a guy like me?"

"I told you already, convenience, Juan is my long term boyfriend."

"I thought it was Carlos?"

"Okay, what's with all the Spanish names?" Peyton asked confused.

"Too many Telenovelas, Brooke?" Jake suggested.

"Probably.. if I knew what telenovela meant! Did I not make this clear that I ditched Spanish the day we covered the naked verbs?" All anyone could do was laugh. It was Brooke, it's what she did. She could do anything to relieve tension in the air and take your mind off of things.

"Anyways," she said dramatically. "If you want to beat Carlos and Juan, Lucas, then you are going to need to work on that sexy mustache they have."

"So Haley, can you believe that project Gonzalez gave us," Peyton asked ignoring Brooke.

"Again with the Spanish names," she laughed. "But yeah, it's a lot of research. And I'll probably end up doing both mine and Nathan's," she rolled her eyes.

"The things we do for love," Peyton sighed and burst out laughing. "Do you realize how ridiculous we must sound? All 6 of us, I mean."

"Who cares what others think? We're happy, they're not. No rank of popularity or the winner of the beauty contest can take that away," Haley said not knowing the irony of what was going to happen.

**-OTH-**

It was finally Friday night, the night of the first basketball game. The guys were psyched and ready to go. The cheerleaders were assembled and had taken their spots on the sidelines. The typical high school basketball game.

"Welcome ladies and gentlemen to the Ravens first regular season game," Mouth announced into his microphone. "Tip off is in just a few minutes. We are joined today by Nathan's Scott wife, Haley." He turned to face her. "Haley, how do you see tonight's match up?"

"Ravens are going to win, plain and simple."

"And do you think that—"

"Mouth, I would rather not be a part of your webcast."

"Right. Sorry," he grinned sheepishly. "But that's okay, because it's time for tipoff. The ball is thrown and it's tipped to Nathan Scott who takes it down the court. He's double teamed at the 3 point line and passes to Tim Smith. Tim dribbles, and can't find a clear shot, so he finds Lucas Scott who scores the first 2 points of what looks to be a promising season."

**-OTH-**

"Good game Luke, you too Nate," Keith congratulated both of them after the game, which of course they won.

"Yeah, good job. Don't be too late Luke," Karen said.

"Yeah Lucas, bed time is at 10," Nathan mocked and got smacked by Haley. "Sorry!"

"So are we going to this party or what?"

"Like Brooke is going to go without you? Who is she going to show off?" Haley chuckled.

"Ready to party tutorgirl," Brooke cheered.

"With you? Always Brooke," she laughed again.

They got to Stacy's house and the party was in full swing. People skinny dipping in the pool, kegs everywhere, music blasting throughout the house, yepp that's what Tree Hill defined as parties. And most of the teens of Tree Hill were conceived at these parties. Everyone went and got drinks right away.

"Ooo jello shots," Brooke yelled. "Come on Peyt, Hales, lets do it!"

"You don't have to if you don't want to Haley," Nathan said putting his arm around her, but she brushed it off and ran over to Brooke.

**-OTH-**

90 minutes and a lot of shots later, they were wasted. Jake was the only one who was somewhat sober because he felt he had an "image" to keep up with Jenny. That statement just caused everyone to roll their eyes and pass him the beer bong.

After awhile of just walking around, Nathan found a chair to sit in. Not too long after, Ashley came over. "Hey there," she said seductively. "What are you doing all by yourself?"

Nathan was too wasted to really do anything. "Just having another beer."

Meanwhile Haley was looking for Nathan. "Peyton have you seen Nate?" The blonde shook her head no and Haley walked off to look more. She finally saw him sitting on a chair and there was a blonde girl on top of him. "Wait, a blonde girl? What the hell is Ashley doing?" Haley's blood began to boil.

She was filled with even more rage when she saw Ashley kissing Nathan.

**Review please! Without reviews, I don't know what to write! Suggestions! What do you want to happen? What don't you want to happen? Thanks for reading!**


	17. Ashley

**Kind of a filler chapter. Don't really like this one, but I am so frustrated with this chapter! I've been working on it for like 3 days and I can't get it the way I want it to sound. Oh well! Enjoy!**

"Haley!" Brooke yelled as she wrapped her arms around the shocked girl. "Let's go play a game!"

"I, um, I gotta go," she said tears already falling and ran off. Brooke stood there confused as to what was going on and then saw Ashley on top of Nathan.

"What are you doing," Nathan exclaimed as he pushed her away. "I'm married."

"But don't you want this?"

"No," he shoved her off his lap so he could get up. Then Brooke came over. "Look I can explain, I—"

"No it's okay, I saw everything." She slapped Ashley across the face. "What the hell is your problem?"

"Where's Haley?" He asked almost afraid to ask.

"I don't know, she took off when she saw you." Nathan winced and ran off to find her. "Oh no I'm not done with you yet," Brooke said as Ashley tried to walk away.

"Catfight!" Someone yelled and all the guys were cheering on Brooke.

"What's going on," Peyton asked Jake.

"Some sort of fight," he shrugged. They walked over to the circle that had been formed around the girls.

"Brooke!" Peyton yelled. Jake got in there and successfully pulled Brooke off of Ashley.

"Stay away from us," she snarled at the scratched up blonde. Then she turned to Peyton. "We gotta go get Lucas and then find Haley. She took off."

"How could he do this to me? Dan was right. He said the minute a pretty blonde walked into Nathan's life, I was gone. What did I do to deserve this?" Haley had run to her old house and was on the porch swing. Yes, there were new people living in the house but her parents left the swing out in the backyard. The elderly couple loved Haley and didn't mind if she hung out on the swing. It was where she always went when she needed time to herself. Like when she was younger and her parents were trying to solve another Taylor problem when Haley had problems of her own. It was her safe place, even if it was out in the open.

"Hales?"

"Yeah, I'm here," she sniffled.

"Is this seat taken?"

"No go ahead." Lucas sat down next to her. He knew that she always came to the swing when she was feeling bad. Yet another reason why they were best friends. He reached over and gave her a hug.

"It'll be ok Hales. It was unintentional, he would never hurt you."

"So why was he making out with some other girl?"

"One, he was wasted. Two, I'm pretty sure the girl came on to him. Come on, let's go back to my house."

"What happened," Karen asked in alarm when Lucas and Haley walked into the house.

"It's nothing," Haley brushed it off. "I think I'm just going to go to bed if that's alright."

"Sure, sleep in my room Hales."

"Thanks. And tell Nathan I love him, and I trust him, I just need some time."

"Okay, goodnight." Once Haley left the kitchen, Karen started asking the questions which Lucas had to answer.

"Tell me what happened!"

"Okay, okay, it's nothing too bad I guess. We were at this party and everyone was pretty wasted. This new girl who Haley had sort of befriended came on to Nathan and started kissing him. Haley saw and ran off before Nathan got the chance to push her off."

"Poor Haley. I want to go find that girl and smack some sense into her. Who does she think she is?"

"Don't worry, Karen, I already took care of her," Brooke said as she walked in the door. "Is Haley here?" Peyton, Jake, and Nathan stumbled in behind her as Lucas just nodded.

"I have to go see her," Nathan said, but Lucas stopped him.

"No you don't. She said to tell you that she loves you, but she just needs some time. Just wait until morning to see her. You all can crash here if you want."

"Slumber party," Brooke cheered. "I'll make the popcorn, Luke you put in some movies!"

"Well I think I've had all the fun I can handle tonight, I'm going to bed," Karen chuckled and they all said goodnight. The 5 teenagers left went into the living room to watch the movie.

"Lukeeee do we have to watch this movie again," Brooke complained.

"What movie is that," Peyton asked.

"The Day After Tomorrow. Don't get me wrong, I liked it the first, oh 5 or 6 times, and Jake Gyllenhaal is a total hottie, but it's getting old. I don't even understand how Luke likes it, there aren't even any hot girls!"

"Fine, you pick a movie, but I swear to God if you pick the Notebook…"

"Too late," she squealed as she put the DVD in the player. "Sit back and enjoy boys." About halfway through the movie, the guys had all fallen asleep. Brooke and Peyton decided to leave them there and go visit Haley. They quietly walked into the bedroom.

"What are you guys doing here," Haley asked. She was sitting on the bed reading.

"Slumber party, what else," Peyton rolled her eyes and laughed.

"Exactly! And it's just not the same without you there tutorgirl, so why don't you come out and join us? I'm sure superstar would love to see you."

"I don't know you guys."

"Is it about what happened tonight?"

"Not really. I trust Nathan and I'm really pissed at Ashley. It just hurt to see that." The other 2 nodded in agreement.

"Well you don't have to worry about Ashley," Peyton chuckled. "Brooke already took care of her."

"That's right tutorgirl, I kicked her ass just for you."

"Aw, you're the best Tigger!"

"I know," she shrugged and grinned. "So come on and join us. It'll be fun. The guys are all asleep anyways."

"Are you going to take no for an answer?" Brooke shook her head no. "Alright, I'll come out."

"Let's go wake them up! Hmm, if only Anna was here, I was thinking whip cream," Peyton snickered.

"Haha goldilocks, real funny. We don't need whip cream to wake them up. Let's just go get comfortable on say.. their laps!" The 3 girls giggled as they got up and went back into the livingroom. Brooke and Peyton sat down where they were originally and Haley slid next to Nathan on the floor. On instinct, his arm wrapped around her. Soon the movie ended and everyone was asleep.

The next morning, Karen made breakfast for everyone. Jake, Peyton, Brooke, and Lucas were out in the kitchen eating while the other 2 were still sleeping. Nathan woke up next. He was surprised to see Haley next to him. Just seconds later, her eyes fluttered open.

"Hey," she said groggily.

"Hey yourself, what are you doing here? I was forbidden to see you last night."

"I wanted to join your slumber party."

"Finally, you're up," Brooke called from the kitchen. "Get in here and eat sleepyheads!"

"Why didn't you guys just wake us," Haley asked.

"Because you looked too cute sleeping there," Peyton said, using the same voice she talks to Jenny with.

"I'm done," Brooke declared. "Let's go shopping today."

"Does she ever stop," Karen asked.

"No," all six replied. "Thanks for breakfast." They made their plans for the day and went off in their separate directions.

It was Monday morning. The weekend was over. And to Haley, that was a good thing for once. She wanted to forget the last 2 days ever happened, as did Nathan. Neither of them were looking forward to seeing Ashley today.

"Ready to face the madness," Peyton greeted them, receiving glares from both. "Okay, sorry I asked."

"No it's alright Peyton, just kind of nervous," Haley apologized. "Better keep an eye on Brooke today. Don't want her going after annoying sluts."

"Hey Nate! Saw that nice piece of ass you were making out with on Friday night," Tim said as he walked over. "What was her name? Abby or something?"

"Tim!" Everyone shouted.

"What? Ow!" Nathan hit the back of his head. "Oh right, you're with Haley now. Got it. How long have you been dating again? I keep forgetting." The others shook their heads as they waited for Brooke and Lucas to get out of the car. Once again, they couldn't keep their hands off each other.

"Think someone should go get them? They might be in there for awhile," Jake commented. Peyton walked up to the window on the passenger side and knocked.

"Come on out Brooke, Haley needs you to play bodyguard today!" Lucas and Brooke both jumped in surprise, hitting their heads on the roof. They fixed their ruffled shirts and checked their hair in the mirror before coming out.

"Finally, they came out for air," Nathan smirked. Then the bell rang and they all headed for homeroom.

After homeroom, Brooke and Haley went to their first class, world studies. Brooke was yet again complaining about the new freshmen on the cheerleading squad. "Hales, please try out, even you are better than them."

"That makes me feel so much better Brooke, but no."

"So have you and Nathan started planning your wedding?"

"Not really. We've just been busy with school starting and all. I think we're going to do it on our 1 year anniversary, which is still a few months away."

"You know what I just thought of! We should throw you a bachelorette party!"

"We already did. And even the first time was after we were married. But I promise you can get drunk at our reception, how about that?"

"That works too."

"Ok class, quiet down," the teacher silenced everyone. "I'm going to assign quarter projects today. You'll be in groups of 3 or 4 and will research the topic assigned. You need to prepare some sort of presentation on the topic to present on the due date. Any questions?" There was silence. "Alright, here are your groups. Ben, Erika, and Brooke, you're doing the French Revolution. Nick, Craig, and Phillip, your topic is the Spanish Inquisition. Brooke, Haley, and Ashley, your topic is the Protestant Reformation."

"Please tell me there is more than one Ashley in this class," Brooke said with her eyes closed. She opened them just in time to see the blonde girl she beat up head over towards them. "I need to fix my karma." Haley laughed at her but she was just as upset at the news.

"Hey guys," Ashley timidly greeted them. "So I have some ideas about the project, I was thinking maybe we could meet after school?"

"Sure, you guys can come over to my apartment," Haley said and Brooke gave her a look as if to say "Are you crazy?" Haley simply shrugged and continued talking about the project.

At lunch that day, Brooke was telling Peyton all about their new 'friend.' The 'friend' that Haley graciously invited into her apartment to work on their project.

"Do I need to come over and referee?"

"Yeah I was thinking everyone could come over. I don't know if I could handle Brooke and Ashley in the same room alone. I don't know if I could handle being in the room. Besides, it will be fun to make her jealous that I have Nathan."

"I've taught you well tutorgirl!"

"Enough about Ashley. You got me thinking this morning about my wedding, Brooke. I started writing ideas down in English. I was hoping you guys would both me my maids of honor?"

"Of course," Brooke exclaimed. "This will be so much fun! We get to pick out dresses and shoes and flowers and get all pampered!"

"Well she's in. Peyton?"

"Of course! I might not get as excited as Brooke but I'd be honored."

"You guys have always been there for me these last couple of years, who else would I ask? You're the best!"

"Aw, do I feel a hug coming on," Brooke said.

"What the hell," Peyton gave in and they all hugged. "I love you too."

"Maybe we should have found a more private place to do this than the cafeteria," Haley laughed noticing the people who were watching them.

"They're just jealous that we get to be the maids of honor in the hottest wedding of the school year," Brooke said. "Actually, the only wedding this school year."

"Yeah, everyone is already jealous enough that you're married to Nathan," Peyton added.

"Including Ashley," Haley rolled her eyes.

"No, I refuse to talk about her," Brooke said. "Finally Broody, what took so long," she wanted to know as the guys finally sat down.

"We had to see Whitey for a second."

"Oh. How boring. Well, we're all going to Nathan and Haley's tonight. Haley said she doesn't trust me in the same room as Ashley so she wants everyone there."

"Why is Ashley coming over?" Nathan asked. "Hasn't she caused enough problems?"

"World studies project."

"That's not all," Peyton said. "Haley wants to make Ashley jealous by making out with you every 5 seconds."

"Peyton!" Haley screamed and punched her friend.

"I gotta agree with goldilocks Hales, you did say you wanted to make her jealous!"

"I can't believe you guys," Haley blushed.

"Hey, I don't mind making Ashley jealous," Nathan smirked.

"Please stop them before they start," Jake said and everyone laughed. They all continued to enjoy their lunch and discuss plans for later.

Later that day, everyone was in the gym once again. The girls for cheerleading, the guys for basketball, and Haley watching everything from the bleachers. She loved to watch Nathan play. He always looked so focused and had an intense stare on his face. And when they won games, he wasn't too bad to be around afterwards. Haley's thoughts made herself blush. Her thoughts were interrupted however by someone walking through the door.

"Guess who's back!"

"What the hell are you doing here?"


	18. I Never

"_Guess who's back?"_

"_What the hell are you doing here?"_

"I came back for you sweetie," he cockily replied.

"I'm sorry, did you not get the memo? We broke up Felix," Brooke yelled. Lucas walked over to break up what could potentially become violent. Brooke has been known to throw a punch or two.

"Just leave man."

"Afraid I'm back to claim my spot?"

"I'm glad you're back to claim it," Brooke cut in. "The role of jackass has been empty for awhile!"

"Funny. You're feistier than I remember. I like it," Felix licked his lips. Brooke rolled her eyes and turned to Lucas kissing him as passionately as she could. Lucas was surprised at first but didn't mind at all. He lifted Brooke up and she wrapped her legs around his waist.

"You can see you're not wanted here," Brooke said as she broke away from Lucas. "Go find some skank to benefit from." She went back to making out with Lucas.

"If my memory is correct, you were once that skank I benefited from," he smirked. Lucas put Brooke down and tackled him.

"Go Lucas Go!" Brooke cheered. Some of the guys from the team tried to break them up. Eventually Nathan and Tim were holding Lucas back while Jake grabbed Felix. "Aw, it was just getting good," Brooke pouted and everyone laughed.

"Get the hell out of here Felix," Nathan said. "No one wants you here."

"We'll see about that," he remarked as he walked out the gym doors.

"I'm going to order some pizza, you guys in?" Nathan asked and everyone told him what they wanted. It was after school and everyone was at the apartment. They were all waiting for Ashley to get there. Brooke and Haley were not looking forward to having to spend time with her.

"Well, as exciting as this is going to be, I think I better get started on my homework," Peyton said. She and Jake headed back to the bedroom hoping to get something done.

"And don't get any ideas while you're in there," Haley shouted.

"Don't worry, Brooke already took care of that," Peyton shouted back.

"Don't remind me," she muttered. Then their was a knock on the door. "Great, this day just keeps getting better and better."

"Hi Ashley," Haley greeted her. "Come on in."

"You know, Peyton's right, we have a lot of homework. Come on Nate," Lucas pulled him back into the bedroom also.

"Now, I wouldn't mind if they got any ideas in the bedroom," Brooke smirked.

"Ew, gross Brooke! That's like my husband and my brother! And their brothers!"

"What could be better?" Brooke smirked and Haley hit her with a pillow. "Okay, okay. Let's get started."

"So I was thinking we could do a slideshow presentation," Ashley suggested. "I brought some books from the library on our topic."

"Sounds good," Haley said. "I have my laptop to research on also. Why don't we break up the project into 3 parts and each of us covers a different one?" The other 2 agreed and they figured out what each was going to do and began working. Then their was another knock on the door.

"I got it," Nathan said as he came back into the living room. "It's probably the delivery guy." And it was. Nathan paid him and set the pizzas on the table. The other 3 came out from their "study session" as Peyton called it, grabbed some pizza, and immediately went back to the bedroom.

"Nice to see you too," Brooke yelled at the retreating figures.

"Nathan," Haley said a little too eagerly. "Why don't you come sit with me?"

"Sure," he replied, clueless as to why. Brooke just smirked and Ashley was too occupied with the book she was looking at to notice.

"Why don't we take a break from the project and play a game or something? Got any vodka superstar?" Too busy making out with his wife, he motioned over towards the kitchen. Brooke got up and looked in some of the cabinets before she found a bottle and some shot glasses.

"Members of Tree Hill High sports teams, get out here," Brooke yelled to the 3 in the bedroom. "Come on newlyweds, you too Ashley. It's time for a game of I Never." Everyone gathered around the table as Brooke handed out the shot glasses. "Ever play Ashley?" The girl shook her head no. "It's pretty simple. We each say something we've never done and if you have done it, then you drink. Nathan, Haley, focus." They just couldn't keep their hands off each other. Either they really missed each other or Haley was trying really hard to let Ashley know Nathan was hers. 'Probably the latter,' Brooke thought as she looked at Ashley who was glaring at the couple. "Alright I'll go first. I never," she looked at Peyton, "made out with Tim, surprisingly." Peyton downed her shot and everyone looked at her shocked.

"What? I was drunk and angry."

"What made you so angry that you made out with Tim?" Lucas laughed.

"Nathan."

"That explains it," Brooke smirked.

"Yeah I love you too," Nathan said sarcastically.

"Ashley, why don't you go?" Brooke suggested sweetly.

"Alright, umm I never had sex on my best friends bed." Everyone drank their vodka except for Peyton and Jake.

"Wait a second," Lucas said. "Haley, why did you drink?"

"I know," Brooke squealed. "You weren't home! I walked in on them!" Everyone burst out laughing.

"Remind me to burn my bed when we get home," Lucas said burying his face in his hands.

"I never fell off a stripper pole," Peyton said. Haley was the only one to drink. Everyone was shocked to say the least.

"What?" She asked innocently. "I never cheated on my boyfriend or girlfirend." Lucas and Peyton both drank.

"Shouldn't you be drinking Haley?" Ashley said. "I mean, with Chris and all? At least, that's what I've been hearing around school." Everyone stopped laughing and turned to the blonde.

"My turn," Nathan cut in before things got ugly. "I never had a dad that loved me more than basketball," he laughed. Everyone drank except him and Lucas. "We're so loved."

"Yes you are," Haley said as she turned to face Nathan and kissed him. Brooke did the same with Lucas until Ashley cleared her throat.

"Can we continue?" They all shrugged and went back to the game.

A half hour and many shots later, everyone was well on their way to being full on drunk except for Jake, Lucas, and Ashley. "I'll go," Haley giggled. "I never made out with someone's husband." Everyone was silent for a few seconds, no one taking a drink, until Haley broke that silence. "Oh Ashley, why aren't you drinking?"

"I don't know what you are talking about."

"I think you do, cheating whore."

"Okay, I think that's enough," Lucas broke in, but not in time to stop Haley from slapping Ashley across the face. "Ashley, I think you need to leave."

"Yeah and finish our project for us," Brooke yelled as the girl walked out. "Nice tutorgirl, glad to see you take after me and not Peyton!"

"This probably wasn't the best idea when we have school tomorrow," Peyton said.

"Yeah, you all can sleep here, I'm going to go put her on the bed and I'll get some blankets and pillows for everyone," Nathan said carrying a now sleeping Haley.

Their lives went by smoothly for the next several weeks. Ashley ended up doing most of the project and then gave it to Haley to make sure she approved. It wasn't like Haley to have someone else do her homework, but she decided Ashley needed something to do. Surprisingly, Felix didn't hit on the girls too many times. It worried Brooke at first because he was actually being nice. She thought it was all fake. Now everyone decided it was best to just ignore him. Thanksgiving was coming up in a few weeks and Karen invited everyone to the café for dinner. Nathan and Haley's second wedding was coming up in January and they were excited. There was so much more to look forward to the rest of their senior year.

"What color did you decide on the bridesmaids dresses," Peyton asked as the 4 girls went shopping for the wedding. Karen had come along also.

"Definitely red. Aw, look at this dress! Wouldn't Jenny look adorable in it?" Jenny was going to be their flower girl. She had turned one a few months ago and was now walking everywhere.

"Tutorgirl, check out this dress," Brooke held up a strapless red dress. "What do you think?"

"I love that! Keep looking though, have as many options as possible. I'm going to look at dresses for me." She went over to the bridal section of the store, Karen followed.

"I can't believe I'm looking at wedding dresses," Karen sighed yet smiled. "Oh look at this one!"

"That's so cute."

"Would you like me to put that in your dressing room?" Cathy asked. Haley nodded and handed her the dress. Deb had set everything up for her. She knew Cathy personally, and called in a few favors to make looking for a dress easier. She only wanted the best for her daughter in law.

The 4 continued shopping and looking for the perfect dresses. 4 hours later, they found them! Haley had quickly found a wedding dress she liked. It was simple and fit Haley perfectly. The long white material flowed past her knees. Her shoulders were bare and the center was beaded. She had more trouble deciding on dresses for her maids of honor. Eventually she settle on dresses that tied around the neck and had a very low cut back. They were red of course and Brooke approved, which was the only thing they needed to know according to Brooke. The girls decided to take a break and stop at a Starbucks on the way to the florist.

"I'm thinking this was a bad idea," Peyton said. They were all sitting at a table with their various drinks when Felix walked in.

"And how are you all today ladies?"

"Just great Felix. You can leave now."

"Without being introduced to this lovely lady," he motioned at Karen. "Where does she go to school?"

"Ew," Haley screeched. "Karen, unfortunately this is Felix. Felix this is Lucas's mother, who might as well be my mother, Karen."

"Do you hit on everything that walks?" Peyton asked.

"Why don't we leave," Karen suggested. They left Starbucks leaving a dumbfounded Felix still standing there.

"Sorry about that Karen, he's an ass," Brooke said.

"Who am I to complain? He thought I was still in high school," she grinned and the others laughed.

"How did the shopping go today?" Nathan asked later that night. He and Haley were cuddled on the couch watching TV.

"Good," she said lazily. "I got my dress!"

"I can't wait to see you in it." He then leaned down and whispered in her ear, "And I can't wait to get you out of it!"

"Nathan," she blushed. "Stop it."

"What? It's the truth."

"I know," She sighed. "Do you ever think we made a mistake?"

"What? Where is this coming from?"

"I just worry that one day you'll meet someone else. Someone that's better than me."

"Hales, you're the one for me. Our wedding day, remember that? And if anyone deserves better it's you. I'm just some screw up who likes to play basketball."

"No you're not. I'm the screw up, I left you remember?"

"Well we can keep passing this back and forth but it's pointless. I love you and you don't need to doubt that."

"I know, I love you too. I just get stressed sometimes."

"It's okay. And I'll always be here to unstress you," he winked.

"You're terrible," she laughed.

"Like you're any better? Who was it that came in during my shower this morning so we can conserve water?"

"What? We shouldn't be wasting it! If you don't agree, we don't have to conserve."

"No we should definitely conserve water," he hurriedly said. "So, are you excited for Thanksgiving? A whole week off from school! And we're like one big happy family," he said sarcastically.

"And it's about to become even bigger. Guess who's coming?"

"Umm I don't know. We've got my parents, you're parents, and then the rest of the gang. Who's left? Please don't say Felix."

"No. Taylor."

"Tell me you have a friend named Taylor that I never knew about."

"I wish. She'll be here for like 4 whole days. And guess where she's staying?"

"A hotel?"

"Our wonderful apartment. I guess she figures since my parents are staying here for those 2 nights, she's welcome to stay as well."

"We'll get through it," he gave Haley a reassuring squeeze.

"It'll be interesting," she said and turned her attention back to the TV. And if she only knew how right she was.

"Haley, we're here," her mother said as they walked into the apartment. It was finally the Wednesday before Thanksgiving and her parents were in town for the next 2 nights.

"Mommy," she yelled as she gave ran out into the living room.

"Hey, sorry we're so late. Your father just had to stop at some fishing store on the way in."

"You're the one who spent 2 hours at that mall in Charlotte," Jim said as he walked in with the bags.

"Daddy!" He gave Haley a hug. Finally Nathan came out after his shower and greeted Haley's parents.

"Nate," Haley's mother said. "Are you taking care of our baby girl?"

"Of course I am Mrs. James," he said as they hugged.

"What did I say about that Mr. and Mrs. stuff? It's Lydia and Jim."

"Got it," he smiled and shook Jim's hand.

"Well you guys can go put your stuff in the bedroom and do whatever. I think I'll get the pull out couch ready. I have to get up early to help Karen."

"Nonsense Hales, we'll sleep out here. You two stay in your own room," Lydia said.

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure," she winked. "Besides I don't know if I could handle sleeping in that bed. God only knows what's happened in it."

"Mom," Haley shrieked and Nathan just laughed. "Ugh, I'm going to bed. See you all in the morning." She retreated back to the bedroom as Nathan began setting up the couch.

"I've got that son," Jim said. "Don't worry about us."

"Okay then, good night," Nathan said as he also retreated back to the bedroom where Haley was sprawled out across the bed. Scoot over," he said pushing her.

"That was terrible," she said.

"What was terrible?"

"What my mom said about the bed!"

"Well it's kind of true Hales," he chuckled and she smacked him across the chest. "What? It is! Care to prove it?" He planted kisses along her neck.

"Nathan, we can't do this here! My parents are in the other room!"

"So? We're married! I think that's a good enough excuse," Nathan smirked and kissed her passionately. Haley finally gave in and they spent the rest of the night pleasing each other.

Haley was up early the next morning showering. She was going to go over to Karen's to help cook and set up for the dinner. When she got out, she found her parents eating breakfast in the kitchen.

"Cereal is all you have Haley?" Jim chuckled.

"Sorry," she grinned sheepishly. "I promise to make it up to you at dinner tonight!"

"What time is dinner again?" Nathan said sleepily as he walked into the kitchen.

"It's not really dinner I guess, but it's at 3 at the café. I'll be home before that to get ready though. Did you guys sleep okay last night?" Haley asked her parents.

"Well it was hard to fall asleep at first with all the noise," Lydia winked and Haley turned a bright red. "I hope you're being careful. I don't want to be a grandma anytime soon."

"Right. And you're already a grandma," she laughed. "So what are you guys going to do today?" She quickly changed the subject

"Oh probably just visit some old friends, maybe go for a walk on the beach or something," her mom said.

"Great. Well I'm off to help Karen. See you later," she kissed Nathan and headed out the door.

"You really changed her Nathan," Jim commented. "She's lucky to have you."

"No, I'm lucky to have her," he smiled. "Anyways, I've also got to get out of here. Make yourselves at home. See you at dinner tonight." And with that Nathan also walked out the door and headed for the rivercourt where he was meeting the guys for a game.

"Ready for the dinner tonight?" Lucas asked when Nathan arrived.

"As ready as I'll ever be. If I don't make it out alive, I'd like to thank you all for your friendship and Tim, stay away from Haley."

"I can't wait," Jake laughed. "It'll be the most entertaining thing all year."

"My parents, Haley's parents, Karen, Andy, and all of you losers, what fun! By the way, what's going on with your mom and Andy, Luke?"

"I don't know. It's kind of cool having him around all the time like a dad. I know I had Keith all these years, but he sort of up and left me like Dan did."

"No Luke, Keith loves you. He'll come back eventually."

"Well it's been 6 months! I think it's been long enough for him to clear his head."

"He'll come around. Let's play some ball, ready to get your ass kicked?"

"It's on little brother, shoot for teams."

**Review! What was your favorite part?**

**Coming up: Thanksgiving dinner! Taylor! **

**Sorry for the wait on this chapter! I also don't know when I'll be updating again. I'm going on vacation soon, but I should get one more chapter before I leave! Also, I am a huge procrastinator and I have to read 4 long books and write 4 reports on them in 41 days. Let's just say, I haven't started. So a lot of my free time that I spend writing might have to be spent reading! I think I can read pretty fast though, so I should be able to get that done pretty quickly! I thought summer vacation meant a break from school so I could do other things, like entertain you guys! haha So thanks for staying patient. And tell me what you want to happen! I'm only still writing this because of my readers! I've been having major writer's block again which is why this chapter jumps all over the place! lol So I would really appreciate some suggestions, PM me if you want! I think that's all I have to say!**

**Oh! And just so everyone knows, Carlos isn't a real person. Brooke just made him up. **


	19. Giving Thanks

"Lucas, so good to see you," Lydia said as she hugged him. Everyone was starting to arrive at the café for dinner. "Who's the girlfriend this week?"

"That would be Brooke," he pulled the brunette over. "Brooke this is Haley's mom."

"Hi Mrs. James," Brooke said.

"Call me Lydia, and give me a hug!" Brooke was surprised at how welcoming she was, but accepted the embrace none the less. "Thanks for looking after Haley. I know she has Nathan and Lucas, but it's good that she has her female friends."

"Haley's great, we all love her."

"Did I hear my name?" Haley asked as she walked over to her mom and Brooke.

"Yeah, Brooke here was just telling me about all of Nathan and Lucas's lesbian fantasies that you fulfilled." Brooke and Haley's eyes nearly popped out of their heads.

"Mom!" She exclaimed horrified.

"Just kidding dear. But I do have some bad news. Taylor can't make it today. She called us earlier and said to let you know. But she said something about maybe visiting next weekend or something."

"Oh, I'm sorry she can't make it," Haley tried to feign disappointment. "I better go tell Nathan." She ran over to her husband and jumped on his back.

"Hey you," she said excitedly.

"We've only been apart for about 5 minutes Hales, did you really miss me that much?"

"Yes I missed my extremely hot husband very much," she giggled capturing his mouth with hers. They were interrupted by Lucas clearing his throat.

"Some of us would like to have an appetite later."

"Sorry," Haley blushed. "But I have great news! Taylor's not coming today! But unfortunately she might be coming next weekend."

"Why isn't she coming?"

"I don't know. Just said she couldn't make it. But who cares? Now we don't have to deal with her!"

"I don't understand why you resent her so much. She's your sister and she was the first person you called after I left Austin."

"Well I wouldn't have called her if I knew she was going to take the opportunity to sleep with you."

"But I have such strong will power and refused to even kiss her."

"Well, I thought the fact that you love me would be enough, but yeah that too."

"Well, well, well, look at the happy couple," Dan said sarcastically.

"Don't start," Deb warned him. "Hi Nate," she hugged him and then hugged Haley. "Happy Thanksgiving. It's good to see you."

"Cut the act, Deb," Dan rolled his eyes and Deb just pushed him away mouthing, "Sorry," back to the couple.

"Having fun yet?" Peyton asked Haley as she walked over.

"I have a feeling this is going to be a disaster," she nodded over in the direction of Dan. "Where's Jenny today?"

"At Jake's parents for the weekend," she grinned.

"I don't even want to know what dirty thought just crossed your mind," Haley chuckled.

"Ladies, it's official, Brooke Davis is bored," Brooke announced as she joined Haley and Peyton. "Do you think everyone would be up for a game of I Never?"

"Remember what happened the last time we played that game?" Peyton asked.

"Yeah, Tutorgirl slapped the hell out of Ashley. Maybe this time you can slap cleavage over there!"

"Dude, that's my mother-in-law!"

"So? She still makes a point of showing her cleavage. And that awful fake tan."

"Says the girl who goes tanning at least once a week," Peyton said.

"But at least I don't look like a carrot! And why are we even talking about this?"

"I don't know you brought it up."

"It's the boredom kicking in, let's break out the alcohol." Brooke poured some wine into a plastic cup.

"Brooke, do you really think you should be drinking in front of your future in-laws?" Haley asked.

"Future in-laws! That means we're going to be related tutorgirl!"

"Why don't we sit down," Peyton suggested noticing that most everyone else was starting to take their seats.

"I'm so glad all of you could make it today," Karen said as she stood at the head of the table. She was about to continue speaking when she was interrupted by the ringing of the bells on the door.

"Am I too late?" An out of breath Larry Sawyer said as he rushed in.

"No, have a seat." He tried to kiss Peyton on the cheek as he headed for his seat, but she just turned her head and buried into Jake's shoulder.

"Well you have a lot to be thankful for," Dan sneered and Deb smacked his head.

"Anyways," Karen continued. "I'm so happy that we could all get together for the holidays. Now, let's eat!"

Karen and Andy served many portions of food. When everyone was happy with their plates, they all went around and said things that they were thankful for.

"I'm thankful for Brooke and Nathan and Haley and, hell all of my friends," Lucas said. "And most of my family," he muttered barely loud enough for everyone to hear.

"I'm thankful for my parent's money. And of course you too Broody. And my hoes," she winked at Peyton and Haley already starting to get a little tipsy.

"I'm thankful for my son," Deb said and smiled at Nathan, receiving a smile back.

"I'm thankful," Nathan began. "For being the extremely hot person that I am," he smirked. Everyone stared at him waiting for something else. "Oh I'm done now," he laughed at Haley's expression. "Just kidding Hales. No really, I'm thankful for my brother and my beautiful, gorgeous, extremely talented in more ways than one, wife Haley and all my friends. And my mom. Is that better Hales?" Haley blushed but nodded.

"Well I'm thankful for Nathan and my parents and all of my friends," she said.

"Don't you mean Chris Keller?" Dan smirked earning yet another hit from Deb.

"Okay, Dan, that's it," Deb yelled getting out of her seat. "I want you to leave."

"You can't make me."

"I own part of this café and I can do what I please. Leave now Dan." He made a big deal of walking out of the café and Deb sat back down. "Sorry about that, continue."

"I'm thankful for Jake and Jenny," Peyton said avoiding all eye contact with her dad.

"I'm thankful for Peyton and Jenny. And that Nikki is gone."

"I'm thankful for being graced with the time I had with Camilla and for all my basketball players," Whitey said. "And my cheerleaders too of course," he added after receiving a glare from Brooke.

"I'm thankful for Peyton who means the world to me and I'm thankful for the time I had with Anna," Larry said. This just made Peyton upset and she left the table. Jake went after her.

"I'm thankful for my wife and our lovely children and their spouses," Jim said.

"I'm thankful for my husband and all our children. And Nathan. Even if he and Haley were rather noisy last night, I couldn't imagine life without them," Lydia smiled.

"Mom!" Haley yelled once again, even Nathan blushed.

"Sounds like superstar scored last night!"

"Brooke!" Haley screeched. "Can we just continue?"

"Of course Haley. I'm thankful for my wonderful son Lucas and all of his friends who have become like my own children. And I'm also very thankful for Andy."

Andy was the last to go and stood up. "I'm thankful for many things like having a successful business. But I'm mostly thankful for the woman I love, who has done so much for me over the last year." He turned to Karen and got down on one knee, opening up a small velvet box that revealed a large diamond ring. "Karen, will you marry me?"

"Oh Andy," Karen exclaimed as everyone looked on happily. "Yes! Yes, I will marry you." He placed the ring on her finger and she squealed with delight.

"Now that's 2 bachelorette parties we get to have this year," Brooke cheered.

"2? Then that means 2 bachelor parties! Hell yeah," Nathan exclaimed and got smacked by Haley.

"If I remember Nathan, you had to ask the stripper at your last party to leave, after only playing video games," she laughed. Then Haley realized that Jake and Peyton were still missing from the table. "Brooke can you come with me for a second?" The 2 girls excused themselves and went up to the roof of the café where Peyton and Jake were just silently sitting there.

"Goldilocks!" Brooke hugged her.

"You okay?" Haley asked with concern in her eyes.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. I'm just still trying to deal with the fact that I've been lied to for the last 17 years and my mom is still alive. And I miss my dad. It's been hard not talking to him since it used to be just us."

"And me," Brooke added. "Second daughter, like your sister right here."

"And Brooke of course," Peyton chuckled. "I don't know anymore. It just gets lonely sometimes. I went from having 2 parents to 1, back to 2, and now pretty much none."

"You'll always have me Peyt," Jake said kissing her cheek.

"And us," Haley added. "You've got your friends."

"And this friend is starving, can we eat now?" Brooke whined.

"If we have to," she tried to sound annoyed but couldn't help laughing at Brooke's antics. "Let's go." The 4 headed back inside. Karen got up to give Peyton a hug when she saw them.

"Everything okay?"

"Everything is great. It's Thanksgiving and I've got my friends," Peyton smiled.

"Finally we can eat!" Brooke exclaimed. "I was dying just staring at my plate and not being able to eat earlier!"

"Come on Cheery, maybe we should get you some water."

The rest of Thanksgiving was enjoyable. Everyone was getting along and Peyton was able to handle small conversation with her father. Dan not being there made the mood much lighter. Or they thought he wasn't there. Little did they know, he was outside watching in the entire time.

"Ladies and gentlemen, Jake Jagielski and Haley Scott," Peyton announced at Tric. It was a couple of weeks after Thanksgiving and the two were performing at the club. Haley and Jake had become a popular attraction in Tree Hill bringing many of their fellow students to Tric weekly.

"Buy you a drink?"

"Go away Felix," Brooke looked away disgusted. "Actually, if you can get me some alcohol that would be great."

"Who would have thought that Brooke Davis would actually be an alcoholic? I mean, I knew you drank, but this much?"

"Shut up Felix! I don't drink anymore than you do."

"Having problems with the boytoy?"

"No, things are great actually, no thanks to you."

"I could help you make him jealous," Felix licked his lips and smiled.

"What part of go away don't you understand?"

"You could try saying it in Spanish. You no sit here," he mocked her, remembering their first encounter while she just rolled her eyes.

"Broody!" She yelled relieved that he was headed towards her. She ran and jumped into his arms.

"Nice to see you too Brooke, what's got you so excited?" She looked over her shoulder back at Felix.

"Please get me away from him and I will reward you greatly."

"To the VIP room," Lucas yelled and started running, carrying a giggling Brooke the whole way.

Nathan and Peyton were also sitting at the bar watching their favorite people doing what they love to do on stage.

"You did a really good thing for her Nate, being able to put all that happened with Chris behind you and still letting her enjoy music," Peyton said.

"Yeah, I can't keep her from doing what she loves to do! Just like how she can't keep me from playing basketball."

"Are you guys entering the holiday tournament again this year?"

"Yeah, I think so. It should be fun, getting a vacation over New Years."

"Yeah, I get to watch after a drunken Brooke and make sure she stays away from guys that aren't Lucas," she laughed.

"Well then it will be especially entertaining for the rest of us. So how are you doing? How's Jenny?"

"Jenny's great. She's getting bigger everyday. I still remember that first day I found out about her."

"Yeah, that was a big shock to everyone," Nathan agreed as Haley and Jake finished the song.

"That's my cue. Gotta go introduce the next open mic people," Peyton said as she rushed off.

Haley was heading over towards Nathan where a group of girls had flocked around him. He looked petrified. "That's not something you see everyday, Nathan Scott, Mr. Big Shot, afraid of a few girls," Haley said to herself.

"Hello ladies," she said as she walked over and pushed herself into the center of the circle. "Are you the Nathan Scott?" She winked at him.

"Yes, and you are?" He played along.

"Haley." She kissed him passionately and then pulled away and looked around at all the girls. "Haley_ Scott_ that is," she said emphasizing the Scott. The girls walked away disappointed and she even heard one of them say, "Ew, isn't that incest?" Nathan and Haley burst out laughing.

"Stupid bimbo," Haley muttered getting up from Nathan's lap.

"Hey, finish what you started," he smirked pulling her back down and kissing her again.

"Free show," Tim yelled as he walked over. Haley and Nathan broke apart quickly suddenly remembering where they were.

"It's all ages kiddos," Peyton smirked walking back over with Jake. Haley blushed furiously.

"I think we're going to go," Nathan said lifting Haley up and running out the door. Haley squealed and laughed yelling, "Call me," back to Peyton.

"We won't see them for the rest of the weekend," Jake said.

"Nathan, slow down, I want to make it home alive," Haley laughed. Nathan was doing everything to get home as quickly as possible.

"Damnit!" He yelled as they stopped at a red light.

"Oh no a red light," Haley sarcastically sighed. She turned her attention back to Nathan, rubbing her hand up his leg and kissed him. They were interrupted once again by the beeping of horns.

"Green light!" Nathan yelled.

They barely made it inside the apartment and he had her pinned against the wall. Their tongues dueled for dominance. Nathan's hands ran underneath her shirt before pulling the soft fabric over her head and off her body. Haley's hands began undoing the buttons to Nathan's shirt, and soon ripped it off. He started kissing her neck feverishly. She then pulled his lips back to hers, reaching for the zipper of his pants.

"Wow, Haley, you don't mess around," they heard someone remark.

**What parts did you like/didn't like? Suggestions please!**

**Coming Up: Who was in the apartment? (I'm sure you can guess) Christmas! Holiday tournaments!**

**So that's the last chapter for awhile. Going on vacation until like the 25th. I hoped this chapter was okay. I felt like this chapter was kind of random. I wasn't so sure about Thanksgiving so I didn't make it too drama filled. Just a filler chapter I guess, setting things up for the future. Hopefully I can work all this out. Please leave comments! Suggestions are always helpful! Thanks for reading!**


	20. A Scare

"_Wow, Haley, you don't mess around," they heard someone remark._

Nathan and Haley froze. Could it be? "Please don't be Taylor," Haley muttered. She looked over Nathan's shoulder and sure enough she was sitting at the counter. Haley grabbed her shirt off the floor and straightened up her hair. Nathan fixed his shirt and buttoned his pants back up. They were finally ready to face the hurricane.

"Hey Taylor," Haley said.

"Well don't just stand there baby sis, give me a hug!" Taylor jumped up and ran over to hug her. Then she turned to Nathan. "Hey there little brother in law." She hugged him as well.

"Hey," he said coldly.

"So um how long are you here for?" Haley broke the silence.

"Just for the night actually. I'm on my way down to Florida since I never made it there the first time."

"It's great to have you here again," Haley said planting a fake smile across her face. "I think I'm going to go to bed, I'm kind of tired," she said a little too cheerfully.

"That's fine. See you in the morning. You going to bed too Nate?"

"Umm yeah I'm exhausted. Basketball practice, you know?"

"I'm sure. Well good night."

Nathan walked back to the bedroom to find a fuming Haley slamming dresser drawers and pacing around the room.

"Is it safe to come in?" Nathan looked around the room pretending to be nervous while Haley simply rolled her eyes.

"Just who does she think she is! Coming here unannounced!" She slid one of Nathan's t-shirts over her head. "And next thing you know she'll be here for weeks!"

"Hurricane Taylor, I got that the last time."

"What are we going to do? She'll start borrowing money and my clothes and—"

"Haless," Nathan whined. "Let's just go to bed… Don't you have to work in the morning anyways?"

"Yeah," she sighed. "Sorry, Taylor just gets to me."

"I know. I learned that the last time also."

"Thanks for putting up with me. You're the best," she gave him a quick kiss and climbed into bed.

"I know I am, tell me something I don't know."

"Oh shut up," she said good naturedly.

**-OTH-**

"Hey Haley," Peyton greeted her as she walked into Karen's café the next morning.

"Hey Peyton, can I get you anything?"

"Coffee sounds good." Haley went back and returned with two coffees.

"I'm glad you're here. It's been so slow all morning."

"Actually I wanted to ask you something."

"Sure, what is it?"

"Well, you and Jake have become really popular at Tric and I was wondering if you would be willing to do a full set instead of just open mic nights."

"Oh I don't know…"

"At least think about it? Everyone loves you guys."

"I'll think about it. Hey Luke, Tigger? You okay?"

"Just tired, someone didn't want to sleep last night," she glared at Lucas.

"I didn't see you complaining then," he said.

"Oh please, don't go any further," Haley covered her ears. The bells above the door rang once again and Haley expected it to be Nathan. And how she only wished it was.

"Who forgot to invite me to the party?" Taylor asked as she took a seat in Lucas's lap. "Lucas, so good to see you."

"Um, yeah, you too Taylor," he looked around uncomfortably.

"You are much hotter than the last time I saw you." Brooke got up and pushed Taylor off his lap.

"Excuse me," Brooke said sweetly. "Perhaps you could find another seat? This one is taken. Permanently."

"Taylor, don't you have some guys to go party with?" Haley asked.

"I can see when I'm not wanted," Taylor said as she got up.

"Good, then leave," Brooke said. After Taylor left, Haley let out a sigh of relief. "I don't know how you lived with her all those years tutor girl!"

"Anyways," Peyton said changing the subject. "You guys excited for the holiday tournament in charlotte this year?"

"It's going to be so fun! Oh and we have to go shopping," Brooke cheered.

"We always go shopping Brooke," Haley commented.

"I know, but shopping is mandatory in the month of December. Christmas is just a couple of weeks away you know! And then there is the big New Year's Eve party after the tournament where our boyfriends or husbands get to show off their hot girlfriends or wives. Therefore, we have to go shopping!"

"Just nod your head and say yes, Haley," Peyton chuckled. "It's a move I perfected a long time ago."

"Talking about shopping and agreeing with everything Brooke says, no wonder Luke looks so comfortable," Nathan smirked as he walked into the café. "Ready to go to the rivercourt bro?"

"Please," he practically begged. "And I do not agree with everything she says."

"Lucas don't forget we're leaving at 6 tonight for dinner," Brooke called out to him.

"Yes Brooke."

"See? Whipped," Nathan smirked again.

"Like you're any better! Or did we forget about that brand new keyboard Haley just had to have?"

"Hey, I got rewarded for that one. The next night she.."

"Virgin ears please!"

"With Brooke as your girlfriend, you're far from a virgin," Nathan laughed.

"But when it comes to you and Haley, I'd like to not be scarred for the rest of my life."

**-OTH-**

"What smells so good?" Haley asked when she walked into the apartment.

"Chicken casserole," Taylor replied pulling the dish out of the oven. "I figured it was the least I could do since you let me crash here last night."

"So why couldn't you make it to Thanksgiving," Haley questioned her as they sat down with their plates.

"Umm just busy at work."

"It had nothing to do with Jason?"

"We broke up."

"Why did he break up with you?"

"Why would you assume he broke up with me?" Taylor shot back.

"Because you can't be in a relationship for more than 2 months without cheating!"

"Says the girl who cheated on her husband."

"Get out," Haley stood up and screamed. "Pack your bag and leave. I did not cheat on my husband. You're the one who tried to sleep with him!"

"Haley, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it."

"That's too bad because I do. Get the hell out Taylor," she said one last time before storming back to the bedroom and slamming the door. Immediately, she fell on the bed and broke into a fit a sobs.

A couple of hours later, Nathan came home from basketball practice. He noticed the uneaten food on the table and the fact that none of Taylor's things seemed to be around. He called out for Haley and when there was no response, he finally found her sleeping. Nathan decided to take a quick shower and join her. When he got out of the shower and into the bed, he noticed her eyes were red and puffy, and there were tissues all over.

"Haley," he whispered softly. "Hales, wake up." She mumbled something and rolled over to face him. "Hey, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," she said groggily. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Umm the red, puffy eyes and used tissues?"

"It's nothing. I'm fine, really," she tried to reassure him.

"Where's Taylor?"

"She um decided to leave early."

"How's come?"

"Can we talk about this tomorrow maybe? I just really want to go back to sleep."

"That's fine. Love you," he gently kissed her forehead and for once, she didn't respond.

**-OTH-**

"Time to get up tutor girl and boy. I don't care if you're having sex right at this moment, I'm coming in," Brooke ran into the apartment early the next morning.

"Nate did you forget to lock the door last night?"

"It doesn't matter," Brooke said as she entered the bedroom. "I have a key."

"How did you get a key?"

"I might have made your landlord give me a copy. Old men are so easy."

"Ew, gross, Brooke!"

"Whatever, get your skinny ass up and dressed. Goldilocks and Jenny are waiting in the car," Brooke said as she quickly exited the room.

"Where does all that energy come from?" Haley wondered in amazement as she got up and started getting ready quickly.

"So about last night," Nathan began.

"Don't worry about it. It was nothing."

"Maybe we should talk about it?"

"Can we talk later? You know Brooke will be back if I don't get out there."

"Sure, see you later then," he hugged her goodbye. Haley ran out of the room and joined Brooke and Peyton in the car.

**-OTH-**

At the mall, the girls were just wandering around just browsing for awhile. "I hope you don't mind I brought Jenny along," Peyton said. "Jake had to work today."

"It's fine. Like I've said before, it's not too early to learn to accessorize," Brooke smiled. A frightened look passed over Haley's face. Not too early? It's way too early. "Tutorgirl? You okay?" Haley shook herself out of those thoughts and nodded her head. "Yeah, I'm fine. Let's shop!"

"That's what I like to hear," Brooke exclaimed.

"Haley have you thought anymore about singing at Tric? Jake said he would do it if you agreed," Peyton asked her.

"Oh I haven't really thought about it much. I should talk to Nathan about it first."

"Okay, well I would like to book you guys for the first weekend in January so let me know soon."

"January," Haley repeated. "That reminds me. We have to stop at the florist and confirm flower orders."

"We have plenty of time, don't worry tutorgirl," Brooke said. "Now let's find some dresses to make our men's jaw's drop!"

A few hours and a few bought dresses later, the girls decided to take a break and go eat at the cafe. Well everyone except Haley who claimed she didn't feel well. The entire time Brooke and Peyton were eating, she kept staring at Jenny. 'Baby,' she thought. 'How did Jake do it all by himself? This can't be happening. I am not ready for a child, Nathan's not ready. Slow down Haley, you don't know anything for sure yet. But you're late, you're sick all the time, what else could it be?'

"So then Jake asked me what you wanted and I said, 'Oh Brooke just wants to know if I'll join her and Luke for a threesome,' and he said it was fine," Peyton said.

"That threesome was really fun wasn't it?"

"She's not listening," Peyton pointed out.

"Way to go genius. I'm pretty sure she would have jumped up the minute she heard threesome."

"What is she looking at," Peyton wondered and then realized as Jenny dropped her tiny silverware on the floor. "Jenny?" She mouthed to Brooke.

"Why?" Brooke mouthed back and Peyton shrugged. "Haley? Tutorgirl you okay?"

"What, huh?" Haley snapped out of her thoughts. "Sorry, what did you say?"

"Haley are you sure you're okay?" Peyton asked in a concerned manner.

"Is there something you want to tell us?" Brooke also asked.

"Like why you aren't eating?"

"Or why you're staring at Jenny?" Haley opened her mouth to respond but instead ran for the bathroom where she barely made it to lose her breakfast. When she was done, she collapsed in tears on the floor. Brooke and Peyton slowly opened the door and walked in.

"I think I'm pregnant," Haley choked out.

"Hales, come here," Brooke hugged the sobbing girl. "Did you take a test?" Haley shook her head no. "Okay well then why don't we stop at a drugstore and then take you home to Nathan. Trust me, you'll want to do this with him." Haley got up off the floor, wiped her eyes, and headed out the door.

"Is she okay?" Karen asked Peyton as they were leaving.

"I don't know," Peyton said sadly.

**-OTH-**

After stopping at the drugstore, the 2 girls dropped Haley off. "Call us if you need anything," Brooke said.

"We're always here when you need us," Peyton added. "So how did you know to say all that stuff about trusting Nathan and taking tests and everything," she asked as they drove away.

Brooke sighed. "Last year, Lucas and I had a scare."

"What do you mean a scare?"

"I thought I was pregnant, so I took a home pregnancy test and it came out positive. But when I went to the doctor, turns out I wasn't."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"It happened right after I found out about you and Lucas! We weren't exactly on the best of terms."

"You still could have come to me," Peyton said.

"I know. But it's done now. We can't change what happened and I'm not pregnant so no harm done right?"

"If you say so!"

**-OTH-**

When Nathan got home from practice, the house was dark. Haley's cries could be heard coming from the bedroom. "Hales?" He walked back there to find her crying on the floor with a grocery bag next to her. Nathan sat down next to her and put his arm around her. "Hales what's wrong?" She didn't say anything, just shoved the bag at him. He started pulling out all the items and froze when he got to the pregnancy test. He looked at Haley who was looking back with big glossy eyes. "Are you..." he could barely get the words out. "Are you pregnant?"

Haley shrugged. "I don't know," she sniffled. "I wanted to wait for you to do this."

"Okay," he let out a long sigh. "Um, why don't you take the test so we can find out for sure." His hands were shaking as he handed her the test.

The next 5 minutes were the longest of their life. So many questions passed through their heads. What were they going to do if Haley was pregnant? Would they be able to support a child? One thing they both silently agreed on was that they were too young.

When time was up Haley told Nathan to look first. He got up and went into the bathroom where all of his fears were relieved. The test read negative. He gave Haley the test who also sighed in relief and started crying again. "Haley? What's wrong?"

"I was so scared," she whispered as he pulled her into a hug.

"Me too, Hales, me too," he said.

**-OTH-**

A week later, the girls were going shopping once again. They knew about Haley's tests results, but were still worried. Nathan and Haley just weren't Nathan and Haley anymore.

"So how are you?" Peyton asked.

"Fine, excited for Christmas," Haley replied.

"Talk to us tutor girl. We're you're best friends, you can't hide from us," Brooke said.

"It's just.. Nathan," Haley began. "He's become so distant since the whole pregnancy thing. He's always at work or basketball practice and hardly has time for me."

"Well when was the last time you had sex?" Brooke asked and then got smacked by Peyton. "Ow!"

"Shut up," she chuckled and turned back to Haley. "Have you talked to Nathan about this?"

"No, everytime I want to talk he doesn't want to."

"Then sit him down and make him listen," Brooke said. "I'm tired of watching you guys mope. You need to figure out your problems, if you even have any. Maybe it's just one big misunderstanding."

"Brooke's right for once," Peyton said.

"Hey! I'm always right."

"Sure Brooke, whatever you say," the other 2 rolled their eyes.

That night Haley made a large dinner for her and Nathan so they could talk. She only had to run to the bathroom once to lost her lunch. She sat at the candlelit table waiting for Nathan to get home.

"Hey, what's all this?" Nathan wondered when he walked in. Haley got up to hug him.

"I thought we could have dinner and talk."

"Sounds good, let me just shower first. Are you sure you're feeling okay Haley?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," she started to say as she passed out in Nathan's arms.

**Coming up: Is Haley okay? Also, Christmas is coming! Holiday tournaments! The Wedding, if they make it until then that is! ;-) **

**I know that Taylor was hardly even in there but when I was writing it I came up with some better ideas instead of having her flirt with all the guys when we know they wouldn't cheat. I'm sorry this took so long to get up because when I got back from vacation, all my files were gone and it took me awhile to get them back including this chapter. I have no idea when I'll be updating again. I've only read one book so far and I have 26 days to finish the other 3 and write 4 reports! On top of that, I also have Driver's Ed on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday for like 3 hours. I'll try and write as much as I can in my spare time that isn't spent reading so bear with me! **

**Also, where should everyone go to college? I know I could make it really easy and send them all to Duke or something, but I don't want to. Please tell me where you think they should all go!**


	21. Lost

**First of all, Thanks to everyone for the comments! I always love reading them! And I want to especially thank _kareena70!_ I was in such a great mood after reading yours! lol It really made me feel good about my writing! And you wanted to know what happened to Jules and Keith. Well, no one knows what happened to Keith, no ones heard from him. And Jules was the one who set the dealership on fire, so I guess she's in jail! But yeah you reminded about a few people I forgot about! Some of the people you mentioned will be coming up in the next couple of chapters or so!**

**Secondly, I have absolutely no knowledge of the medical world. Everything in this chapter that is medical related was made up in my imagination. lol Hopefully it turns out okay.**

**And lastly, I got this update up so quickly because I wrote this instead of writing my book reports like I was supposed to! So I'm in trouble for that lol --If anyone has read any of these books: Of Mice and Men, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Death of a Salesman, and/or For Whom the Bell Tolls, and would love to help me answer some questions about each book so I can get them done quicker, please PM me or leave your email address! I'm afraid to use or because I know other kids will be using it! And I would rather write this story than actually read the books so I could use some help! ;-)**

**Now on with Chapter 21!**

"Nate," Lucas yelled as they ran into the waiting room at the hospital. "What happened? Is she okay?" Nathan stood up, evidence of tears showing on his face.

"I don't know where or how she is, they haven't told me anything. All I know is that she passed out in my arms and wouldn't wake up. She didn't look very good when I got home, kind of pale."

"Well we're here for you," Brooke said as she hugged Nathan. "We called everyone else, but we couldn't get ahold of Haley's parents."

"Yeah I think they were going on some cruise for Christmas."

"Nathan," Deb said as she also entered the waiting room. "How is she? How are you?"

"I'll be fine," he said sitting back down on the couch. "The doctor will come out, tell us everything will be okay and then we'll go back to our lives."

"Nathan," Deb said again more sternly.

"What if she's not okay?" He sobbed. "What if I lose her mom?"

"You won't lose her. Haley's a strong girl," she pulled her broken son into a hug. "And she only passed out. It's not like she was beaten or anything."

"But she looked awful. I knew she hadn't been feeling good all week. We thought she was pregnant." Deb looked up in surprise. "She wasn't. And then when she greeted me from basketball practice tonight, she looked so pale and fragile. Then she collapsed in my arms."

"It'll be okay," Deb said stroking her son's back. "It'll all work out in the end."

**-OTH-**

"Alright Haley," Dr. West said as she sat down next to her bed later that night. She was in recovery from surgery. "Did you know you were pregnant?"

"No I took a home pregnancy test and it said—Wait, what do you mean were?" Dr. West looked down mournfully for a moment as a tear fell down Haley's cheek.

"Haley, I'm sorry to tell you this. But you were pregnant," she paused, "But I'm afraid you lost it."

"No," Haley cried out. "Why?"

"For how long did you think you were pregnant?"

"Well I didn't really put the pieces together until a couple of weeks ago actually. But I had been having what I guess would be morning sickness for about 3 weeks. It wasn't that often, so I just thought I had some flu bug until I realized I was late."

"Well it appears that a virus began attacking your reproductive system. It's a tough one to

detect because usually, the vomiting will be chalked up to morning sickness if you are pregnant."

"If I had been brought in sooner would my child still have been okay?"

"Most likely. But like I said, you never know. I've seen too many cases like this. The virus attacks right in the beginning stages of pregnancy so its usually too late to do anything about it."

"But what about the pregnancy test I took?"

"They aren't always accurate. You should take more than one just in case. And the virus may have had something to do with that."

"Is everything okay now?"

"Well," Dr. West sighed. "As of now, you should be fine. But you may have complications in your next pregnancy. And that is if you can even get pregnant. Your chances are lower than before. I'm sorry to have to tell you all this." Haley began crying again. "Would you like me to go explain everything to your husband?" She shook her head.

"No, I'll do it," she sniffled. "But could you tell everyone else who is waiting after you send Nathan in?" The doctor nodded and exited the room.

**-OTH-**

Now joined by Jake, Peyton, and Karen, everyone was crowded into the small waiting room. Some were asleep, others were awake lost in their own thoughts.

"Nathan Scott?" His head shot up at the sound of his name. "Your wife is in recovery and wants to see you. She's in room 118."

"Is she okay?"

"She'll be fine but she wants to tell you the rest herself."

"Thank you doctor," he said gratefully and ran down the hall.

"So tell us doctor…" Karen paused not knowing her name.

"Dr. West."

"Dr. West," Karen repeated. "Is Haley really okay?"

"Physically, she should be alright. Emotionally… well that's another story."

**-OTH-**

"Hales," Nathan said with a sigh of relief as he entered her room. "How are you feeling?" He asked as he got onto the small bed with her.

"I'll be fine."

"But…" And that's when the tears started to fall yet again. Nathan tightened his arms around her. "Hales, what is it?"

"I was pregnant."

"Was?" He winced.

"I lost the baby," she sobbed even harder and Nathan himself let a few tears fall.

"I had a virus attacking my reproductive system," she continued after slightly calming down. "Not only did I lose the baby, my chances of even getting pregnant again are low." She buried her head into his chest. "I'm sorry," she cried.

"It's not your fault Hales," Nathan tried to comfort her but had trouble holding it together himself. "We didn't know this would happen."

"I know, but now we'll never get to meet our child." Nathan couldn't keep it together any longer and began crying himself. The two held onto each other crying for their lost child, crying for the lost life they had created. Haley eventually cried herself to sleep, still in Nathan's arms. He eventually calmed down and sat there just thinking. He thought about what could have been and what should have been. Then he realized everyone was probably still waiting outside so he left to go see them.

As soon as he entered the waiting room, Deb got up and gave him a hug. "The doctor told us everything. I'm so sorry."

Karen was next to give him a hug. "Everything happens for a reason," she reminded him.

"You alright bro?" Lucas asked giving him a hug as well.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. We'll get through this." The other 3 gave him hugs as well..

"Can we see Haley?" Peyton asked.

"She was sleeping when I left, but you guys can check if you want." The girls rushed down the hall leaving the guys still standing in the waiting room.

"You sure your okay man?" Jake wondered.

"Yeah, everything will work out."

"Come on let's go see Haley," Lucas said.

**-OTH-**

"Knock, knock," Brooke said walking into Haley's room.

"Hey guys," she sadly smiled and all 4 ran to her bedside to hug her.

"We're so sorry this had to happen to you Haley," Karen said.

"Yeah, whatever you need, we're here for you," Deb added. "When can you get out of here?"

"Tomorrow. They just want to keep me overnight to make sure nothing else goes wrong."

"We should go shopping," Brooke said.

"Or we could let her rest," Peyton chuckled.

"Slumber party?" Brooke tried again.

"Sure, why not," Haley laughed as the guys walked in.

"Hey buddy," Lucas said hugging Haley. "You okay?"

"Yeah," she tried to smile. "Hey Jake," she said hugging him as well.

"I'm sorry Haley," he said.

"Yeah, me too," she sighed.

**-OTH-**

Haley hit play on her CD player as they started off down the highway. It was time for the Holiday Tournaments. The guys would play basketball and the girls were going to cheer. Haley was just along for the ride. Luckily, Tim had already passed out in the backseat so it was just Nathan and Haley awake. That wasn't always a good thing though. Things hadn't been easy when Haley got home from the hospital. Each of them were dealing with the loss in their own ways. For awhile, both were in denial. Until one day, they broke down.

_-Flashback-_

"_Haley, what's wrong?" Peyton asked as a crying Haley stood on her doorstep. It was 2 days before Christmas, and 4 days since she had left the hospital._

"_I lost the baby I never knew I had," she sobbed as realization hit her. When the doctor first told her, she cried. But after leaving the hospital she put a smile on her face and went on with life, like nothing was wrong._

"_Come on in Hales," Peyton ushered her in. "I'll be right back." She went into the kitchen and grabbed her phone. "Come on, pick up."_

"_Hello?"_

"_Brooke you need to get here now."_

"_I'm on my way," Brooke said noticing fear and worry in Peyton's voice and hung up. Peyton went back into the living room where Haley was seated on the couch._

"_Want to talk about it?" Peyton offered._

"_When did things go wrong?" She questioned back. "I took a test that told me I wasn't pregnant and we were sort of relieved. But then this distance came between us. Then I find out I was pregnant but now I'm not…"_

"_And you just want things to go back to the way they were," Brooke finished as she walked into the house._

"_Yeah," Haley sniffled._

"_Tutor girl," Brooke sighed. "I know what you are going through. When the test said I was pregnant, I was so scared at first, but then I was happy. Lucas and I created a life. And then when I found out I really wasn't pregnant, I felt like I lost it too. I felt empty."_

"_Nice speech," Peyton commented._

"_Always have to ruin the moment don't you goldilocks?" Brooke said causing Haley to laugh. "What's this? A smile?"_

"_You guys are crazy," Haley said. "Thanks. I don't know what I'd do without you."_

"_Good, because you're stuck with us," Brooke smiled._

"_Do you want us to call Nathan to come get you?" Peyton asked. "I'm pretty sure he went down to the rivercourt with Jake and Lucas." Haley nodded._

_Meanwhile…_

_Lucas and Jake walked down to the rivercourt ready to play some basketball. As they approached the court, they noticed a lone figure sitting on the picnic table with his head in his hands._

"_Nate?"_

"_I lost my child," he simply said. "I should have noticed sooner that Haley wasn't feeling well. She always brushes things off and says she's fine, but I knew better. I should have done something sooner."_

"_I can't say I know what you're going through," Jake said. "I have Jenny. But maybe this is a sign or something. You're still too young. I love Jenny and I'm so glad to have her, but it has not been easy. Skank named Nikki ring a bell?" Jake chuckled as did Nathan._

"_When I first found out Brooke was pregnant, I freaked out," Lucas said. "But then this sort of calm washed over me. I was going to be a father. And then it turned out she wasn't pregnant and I felt like I lost something too. You'll get through this. Just a speed bump in this game we call life."_

"_You have such a way with words Luke," Nathan laughed. "Thanks guys."_

"_We're always here for you, you know that," Jake said. Then Nathan's cell phone went off._

"_Hello?"_

"_Nathan! It's Peyton."_

"_Peyton? Is everything okay?"_

"_Um, yeah I think so. I don't know. Could you come over like right now? I think Haley had a moment of truth or something."_

"_Yeah I'll be right there." Nathan got to Peyton's house in record time. He went inside and got Haley, thanking Peyton and Brooke. They rode back to the apartment in silence. Nathan carried Haley into the house and they just laid in bed. No words needed to be said, each understood what the other was going through. They had gotten their clarification today that they would always have each other._

_-End of Flashback-_

Haley smiled at the thought. Things got better after that. Christmas went by smoothly. Deb threw a party at the beach house which everyone except Dan attended. Nathan had gotten Haley a gold necklace with a heart on the center of the chain. Engraved on it was, "Nothing else matters." Haley smiled as she touched the heart hanging from around her neck remembering when Nathan came to her that night. He was so broken and he let her in. She knew from that night on, things would never be the same. And she was right.

"Are we there yet?" Tim said as he slowly woke up in the backseat.

"No Tim."

"How about now?"

"You are worse than Brooke," Haley laughed. Then her cell phone rang. "Speaking of. Hey Tigger."

"Tutor girl! I am dying of boredom. Luke is making us listen to Travis! Can you believe it?"

"My God, the horror!"

"I know! And Peyton hid all my Britney CD's."

"There's a reason for that Brooke," Haley heard Jake say in the background.

"Aw poor Brookie," Haley said. "Hang in there, you've only got about 30 minutes to go."

"I might not make it that long! When I'm gone, please don't forget about me," she said dramatically.

"Wow, what are they doing to you? I think you need to see someone, like a counselor."

"I've always thought she needed to see someone," Nathan added.

"I heard that superstar," Brooke yelled into the phone. "Well, I guess I better go work my charm on Broody to try and get him to put something else on. Wish me luck!"

Haley laughed as she hung up the phone. "Wow," was all she could say at first.

"That's Brooke for you," Nathan said. "And I've been friends with her since like 3rd grade!"

"And you still turned out so normal?"

"Haha, aren't you funny?" Nathan said sarcastically. "Are you going to be filling in for any cheerleaders this weekend? I would love to see you in that cheerleading outfit again!"

"Please don't remind me. No I'm not filling in, but I'm sure I could always borrow someone's outfit if you want," she winked at him.

"This is getting good," Tim cheered.

"Tim, we really need to find you a girlfriend," Haley declared.

**-OTH-**

"Here are your room assignments," Whitey handed out sheets of paper at the team meeting when everyone arrived. "And I stress that they are final. Curfew is at 10, except on New Year's Eve. Get settled tonight and get some rest. We have a long 3 days ahead of us."

"What? Why do I have to room with Lucas?" Nathan complained.

"It's not that bad Nathan, we've got it all figured out," Brooke said. "We can just have Haley and Lucas switch."

"I have to share a room with you and Lucas," Peyton asked horrified.

"You can always come to my room babe," Jake offered. "But I'm with Dim here…"

"We'll get it worked out, don't worry," Lucas said. "Let's go eat!"

The next morning…

"Wake up boys," Whitey said walking into Lucas and Nathan's room. "Scott and Scott get your asses up! Practice is in 30 minutes." He walked over to check the beds and noticed one was empty, but the other was full. "Miss James, er Mrs. Scott, whatever your name is, would you mind getting dressed while I talk to Nathan?"

**Favorite parts? Comments are appreciated! **


	22. Happy New Year!

**So I rewrote this chapter 3 times and each time I wrote about each day of the tournament. I really wish I never even wrote that this stupid tournament was coming up! lol I know I've had some frustrating chapters before, but this one tops them all! So here is my 4th shot at writing this chapter! Not a lot happens, a lot (and I mean a lot) of dialogue, all of the characters sort of catch up with their friends in this chapter. And I warn you, lots of cheesy, sentimental moments! **

**Now for Chapter 22!**

"Not too much makeup Brooke," Haley warned as the short brunette insisted on doing her makeup.

"Don't worry, I've got this." It was New Year's Eve. The tournaments were over and everyone was getting ready to celebrate the end of 2005 and the beginning of 2006. The Ravens won each of their games leading up to the big champsionship which was held earlier that day. After defeating the opposing team, the Ravens were named champions. The girls' cheerleading competition had been held 2 days ago, but they didn't place once again. They didn't mind that much, the only competition that mattered was the Classic and they still had a few months before that. Now they were all getting ready for the big party held at the hotel and all the teams were invited.

"What time are we meeting the guys again?" Peyton asked.

"In the lobby at 7. Okay, done tutor girl! You can look in the mirror now," Brooke spun the chair around so Haley faced the mirror.

"Wow," Haley gasped. "Brooke, it's perfect!" Her hair was lightly curled and hung around her shoulders while her makeup was light and subtle.

"You look great Hales," Peyton complimented her.

"Thanks!"

"So are we ready to go ladies? Our men are waiting," Brooke said.

"Hey, you're the one that said we had to be fashionably late."

"Well we're late, let's go!" The girls headed down to the lobby where the guys were waiting. As they stepped off the elevator, all 3 of their jaws dropped.

"Wow, Brooke, you look amazing," Lucas said taking her hand.

"You're not too bad yourself, Broody."

"Hales," Nathan said in awe.

"Do you like it?" She asked shyly.

"Like it? I love it, you look beautiful."

Jake greeted Peyton with a long kiss. "Hello to you too," she giggled.

"You look gorgeous."

"Thanks."

"Ready to go in?" Lucas asked and the 3 couples walked into the ballroom. They joined Erica and Mouth at their table.

"Erica, you look great," Haley said.

"Thanks, so do all of you!"

"The first slow song of the night," Brooke announced as the music slowed down. "And as usual, the first dance goes to Mr. Bond. You don't mind if I borrow Mouth for a song do you Erica?"

"Go right ahead." The other couples proceeded out onto the dance floor as well.

"So how are you Mouth?"

"I'm great. I've got Erica and about a month ago I got an acceptance letter to Yale."

"Mouth! That's awesome! What did Erica say?"

"I actually haven't told her yet," he smiled sheepishly. "I'm working on it, waiting for the time to be right. I just hope that she gets in too, or at least a school near me."

"It'll work out, don't worry."

"Thanks Brooke, you and Lucas doing okay?"

"We're great too," she smiled just thinking about him.

"I'm happy for you guys. After all, it was me who said that if anyone could work it out, you two could."

"I remember that night," she said remembering back to the cold night of the Boytoy Auction. "We had fun, didn't we?" He nodded. "Yeah, we need to hang out more often."

"I would like that," he said. "Thanks for everything Brooke."

"Um your welcome? What exactly are you thanking me for? She laughed.

"Being my friend. I've never been the popular guy and being friends with you has been fun."

"Aw, Mouth, I love you in the friendship sort of way," she said. "I'm lucky to have someone like you as a friend. Promise we'll keep in touch even after you take over the world?"

"Well, I don't think I'll take over the world, the United States maybe…"

"Promise?"

"I promise Brooke," he said as they continued swaying to the music.

**-OTH-**

"Mind if I cut in?"

"Sure," Jake said. "I'm just going to go get something to drink."

"Did I mention yet how beautiful you look tonight?"

"Yes, but a few more wouldn't hurt Luke," Peyton winked at him.

"Well you look gorgeous. How have you been?"

"Good. This last year has been amazing. And I have you to thank for that."

"Yeah, having a hot stud like me in your life must be nice."

"You hang out with Brooke too much!"

"Well that tends to happen when you have a girlfriend."

"I wouldn't know since I never had one!"

"I would hope so," he chuckled.

"But seriously," she said. "If you hadn't called him when you did, he might still be running. Thanks for bringing him home."

"It was no problem, but your welcome. I want all my friends to be happy."

"Are you happy?"

"Yeah," he sighed his gaze drifting over to Brooke and Mouth. "I really am."

"Have you heard from any colleges yet?"

"I've gotten a few letters, but I haven't opened any yet. Don't tell Brooke, I'm waiting for hers to come so we can open them together."

"My lips are sealed."

"What about you?"

"Well," she said not really sure what to say. "I got into NYU."

"Peyton that's great!"

"Is it? I mean, yeah it's a good thing. But what about Jake and Jenny? And all of my friends? I can't just leave you all here."

"You have to go Peyton. And not all of us are staying here. Nathan and I both applied to colleges like UCLA and if we get accepted, that's a lot farther than New York."

"But what about Jake? He has Jenny to think about."

"You'll always have your friends. We'll help out in any way we can."

"Thanks Luke, you really are the greatest," she said resting her head on his shoulder.

"I am, aren't I?"

"There you go again!"

"In all seriousness though, I mean that. I'll always be here for you as well as everyone else. We love you guys."

**-OTH-**

As Haley and Nathan danced, Haley spotted Jake headed for the bar. "I'll be right back," she said as she walked over to Jake. "Hey Jake," she smiled. "Do you want to dance?"

"Sure," he said walking back out onto the dance floor.

"You know what I'll miss most when we all leave Tree Hill," she asked. "Open mic nights at Tric."

"Yeah, but I might still be here for those open mic nights."

"What do you mean?"

"With Jenny and everything, I think it's just best if I stay here. I'll have my parents and I can just go to the community college."

"Are you sure about that? You know all of us will help out in any way we can."

"I know, and I'm so thankful for how helpful you all have been over the last year, but I can't depend on you guys forever."

"Well, whatever you decide, we're always here for you and Jenny."

"Thanks," he smiled. "So what school are you going to? Having trouble deciding between Harvard and Princeton?"

"Stop it," she laughed. "I don't know what I'm doing yet, I haven't decided. I guess I'm waiting to see what Nathan gets."

"And you and Nathan are okay?"

"We're better than okay, we're great."

"I hope one day Peyton and I will be like you two."

"Trust me, you guys pretty much already are. In fact, you are one step ahead of us with the baby."

"Maybe so, but who knows what the future holds?"

**-OTH-**

When the next song started, Peyton and Nathan began dancing together.

"Well this is weird," he commented. "Who would have thought that just over one year ago that we would have ended up like this?"

"Things definitely have changed. You know I'm proud of you, right?" He nodded. "I really am. Like I've said before, you turned into the kind of guy I always knew you could be."

"Hey, I'm not the only one who's changed, Mrs. Jagielski," he smirked. "You really love him, don't you?"

She nodded. "Isn't it a great feeling, Nate? Always knowing that your wife or boyfriend or whoever will be there for you, to hold you when you're sad and celebrate when you're happy…"

"Yeah, it is great. I can't even imagine what I used to be like anymore. I can't believe I was that guy."

"But you're different now, we all are. At the risk of sounding cheesy, which I think I sounded cheesy a few sentences ago, love really did change us all."

"Yeah that was pretty cheesy," he smiled. "But I agree."

"Moving on before you make fun of any more of my cheesy lines, what have you heard about college?"

"I've heard from a few places. High Fliers really helped me out. I've gotten letters from UCLA, Duke, and UConn so far.

"Wow, that's awesome Nathan! Have you told Haley yet?" He shook his head no.

"And don't tell her yet either, I'm waiting to see where she gets in first."

"Where do you want to go?"

"Honestly, I don't really care as long as I'm with Haley. I would kind of like to stay in North Carolina, but then again I think it would be good to experience a totally different environment like California."

"Yeah, I know exactly what you mean," she sighed. "I got into NYU."

"Congratulations Peyt. Not that I had any doubt that you wouldn't! You've always wanted to go there."

"You remember that?"

"Of course I do. I may have been a sucky boyfriend at times…" She scoffed at that. "Okay, most of the time, but I paid attention. I really do care about you Peyton. I'm always here for you."

"I know you are. Thanks Nate."

**-OTH-**

"Mind if I cut in again?"

"What is with you stealing my women Luke?" Jake asked.

"Last time, I promise."

"Okay, but only because it looks like Peyton and Nathan are done."

"Thanks Jake. Hey buddy," he said as he started dancing with Haley.

"Hey Rocket Roe," she smiled.

"How are you? We haven't talked in like forever."

"It's been like 6 hours."

"You know what I mean."

"Yeah I know. I'm fine, great actually."

"Things okay with Nathan?"

"Perfect. Brooke still pitying you by sticking around?"

"Ouch Hales, that one hurt," he mocked. "But yeah we're good. And now onto the topic of the night, college. Heard anything yet?"

"A few places. You?"

"Gotten a few letters, just waiting for Brooke so we can decide together."

"Nathan and I really haven't talked about it much."

"Well where all did you get in?"

"Florida State, Ohio State, those were kind of random, I don't really remember why I applied there."

"Well that's nice," he chuckled.

"Shut up. Florida because of the weather, duh. And Ohio, I don't know, remember my friend Nicole before she moved to Ohio a few years ago? We always said we would go to college together…I haven't talked to her in like a year, I should call her. But anyways, I also got into Duke and NYU."

"I'm so proud of you Hales. A lot of things have changed, haven't they?"

"Yeah, remember when it was just the 2 of us against the world?"

"And then I joined the basketball team…"

"And our lives changed forever," she finished.

"Wow we could write for Hallmark," he chuckled.

"Always have to ruin the moment don't you?"

"It's what I do. Just promise me we'll always stay friends Hales."

"I wouldn't have it any other way."

**-OTH-**

"Hey superstar," Brooke said to Nathan. "It's your lucky night, since your wife stole my boyfriend, you get to dance with me!"

"What did I do to deserve such an honor?"

"Just lucky I guess," she shrugged.

"How are you?"

"I'm great. We all are, I think that's pretty obvious."

"Yeah," he agreed. "So what about college? What have you heard?"

"I'm going to Duke, definitely. Don't tell Broody yet because he doesn't know. I think he is still waiting for my letter to come. Both my parents went to Duke. Between the money they donated and me busting my ass over the last year, that's where I'm going. Actually I got a partial scholarship for cheerleading."

"Wow, congrats Brooke!"

"Thanks, but what about you superstar?"

"The usual, UCLA, Duke, and UNC."

"The usual huh?"

"Usual basketball schools, Brooke."

"Oh, right. Well if you go to Duke, I'll be cheering for you!"

"Do you mean that in the literall sense or the fact that you hope I do well," he laughed.

"Both," she smiled. "How long have we been friends Nate?"

"Since like 5th grade I think."

"And to everyone's surprise, we never hooked up."

"Thankfully."

"Hey!"

"What I mean is that we're friends Brooke."

"Yeah, and I know I tease you sometime but you know I care about you, and Haley too."

"I know," he said. "I love you too."

"Aw, is superstar going all sentimental on me?"

"I'm a changed man."

Their dance was interrupted by the DJ. "Less than 5 minutes until midnight everyone. Ring in the New Year with the people you love." The 4 couples all congregated in one area, each couple pairing off just waiting for 2006 to come.

"5, 4, 3, 2, 1, Happy New Year!" Everyone cheered as they each kissed their loved one.

"I love you," Haley said to Nathan.

"I love you too, only 3 weeks until our wedding."

"Can you believe we're almost at our 1 year anniversary?"

"I can't wait," he smiled.

"You know the way you spend New Years Eve is the way you spend the rest of your year," Peyton said.

"Think they'll notice if we go back to the room?" He laughed.

"Yes and Brooke will kill us. Just in case, I love you Jake."

"I love you too Peyton. You're amazing and Jenny loves you."

"I love her too, I wish she could be here with us!"

"Happy New Year Broody!"

"Happy New Year Cheery! I love you."

"I love you too Luke."

"Happy New Year Mouth," Erica smiled. "Now give me some.. Mouth!"

"Group hug," Brooke yelled to the other seven and they all hugged each other. "Love you guys."

"Love you too," everyone responded back.

"Any room in there for the Tim?"

Brooke looked up from the large embrace. "Of course there is, unless you grab my ass in which case Lucas will be all over you."

"Got it," he said as he joined the hug.

"To new beginnings," Peyton said.

**What parts did you like/didn't like? Comments please!**

**Coming up: The Wedding**

**Yeah I warned you guys that there was a lot of cheese! Oh well, I think we're going to be in need of cheese once the new season starts... Sighs This chapter was like the definition of filler chapter. lol I really wish I never had the idea of 'Holiday Tournament' And did anyone notice the shout out to myself in there? lol! **


	23. The Wedding

_Beep. Beep. Beep._

The alarm clock went off at 8:45am sharp. Haley reached over and shut it off. "Nathan," she kissed him lightly. "Time to get up."

"Happy Anniversary Hales," he smiled as he opened his eyes.

"Happy Anniversary. Can you believe it's been a year?"

"Yeah, seems just like yesterday that Lucas was freaking out in our living room. Are you excited that you're finally get your big fancy wedding?"

"Definitely," she grinned. "I just wish my parents could be here."

"No one knew Quinn was going to go into labor last night. Besides, they were at the last one and you know they would be here if they could."

"I know. And I'm glad they're with Quinn since it's her first baby after all. This is my second wedding, I'm a pro by now," she laughed. "And I have to go shower before Brooke gets here and drags me away."

"Too late tutor girl, I'm here," she said as she walked into the room. "Whoa superstar, you might want to cover up there."

"Hi Brooke," Nathan waved as he pulled the fallen sheet back up.

"Nathan and Lucas are definitely brothers Haley," she smirked. "Hurry up and shower. I'll be waiting in the car with Peyton. If your not out there in 10 minute, I'm coming back in. So don't get any ideas about what you want to do to Nathan once I leave."

"Goodbye Brooke," Nathan waved again. "See you tonight. I guess this means you have to go to," he said turning to face Haley.

"A long day of pampering with Brooke, Lord help me," she laughed. "You going to be okay by yourself?"

"Yeah, probably going to head over to the Rivercourt for awhile or something."

"Okay, well I'll see you tonight," she smiled and kissed him again. "I love you."

"Love you too."

**-OTH-**

"11 minutes Haley! What did I say? I'm pretty sure I said 10," Brooke exclaimed when Haley got to the car. "Does Nathan not know the meaning of 'quickie' !"

"Whoa, Brooke," Peyton warned. "First of all, yes he does. Sorry Haley. Secondly, it's Haley's wedding day, she can be late if she wants."

"Okay, fine, whatever. We have to go pick up Deb and Karen at the café. They are making sure all the food is ready to be prepared for tonight. Tutor girl, why did you invite them along with us today?"

"Well let's see, Deb pretty much paid for the entire wedding and reception and Karen isn't so bad."

"Yeah Karen is nice," Peyton offered.

"It's just creepy Cleavage that freaks me out," Brooke said.

"It's going to be a long day isn't it?" Haley sighed as they pulled up to the café and Karen and Deb came out.

"Hi girls," Karen greeted them.

"Excited for your big day Haley?" Deb asked.

"Very excited," she smiled. "Even though I've already been through it once, I've always wanted a big wedding. I can't thank you enough for doing this for us."

"Your welcome. Anything to make my son and daughter-in-law happy."

"Hate to break up the love fest," Brooke interrupted. "But we have spa appointments in 10 minutes so can we go?"

"Of course Brooke," Karen said. "Let's go."

**-OTH-**

"You nervous sweetie?" Deb asked as Nathan straightened out his suit. It was just minutes away from the wedding and everyone was putting the finishing touches on themselves. The girls spent the day relaxing and getting ready. The guys spent most of their day playing basketball and they got ready by simply showering and getting dressed.

"We're already married mom," Nathan said. "Why would I be nervous?"

"Just making sure."

"You do know that Brooke is going to want to get married after this," Lucas said as he walked over.

"Send me an invite," Nathan smirked.

"Thanks a lot man," Lucas rolled his eyes and laughed. "Ready to do this?"

"Of course! Seriously though, thanks Luke for everything."

"Anything for you and Hales, little brother," Lucas gave him a hug.

Meanwhile, Brooke was putting the finishing touches on Haley's makeup. "You know Hales, when you become rich and famous, I could be your personal stylist! I mean, look at my kick ass makeup job!"

"Looks great Brooke, thanks!"

"2 minutes girls," Deb opened the door to say.

"Thanks Deb," Haley turned back to her bridesmaids. "I had this whole speech planned, but I think I'll just start crying, so group hug! I love you guys."

"We love you too Hales, and make sure you send us a postcard from Hawaii!"

"Yeah and when you're in California, get a picture of Brad Pitt for me! Oh and his number too," Brooke added. Deb was sending Nathan and Haley to Hawaii for a week. On their way back home, they would be staying in California for one night and catching another flight home the next day.

"Of course Brooke," Haley chuckled. "Any requests Viv?" Haley's eldest sister Vivian was also a bridesmaid.

"I wouldn't mind Johnny Depp's number," she winked. Then the music began playing. "That's our cue, good luck Haley-bub." The procession down the aisle began. Everyone oohed and aahed as Jenny walked down throwing flowers everywhere. Then Peyton walked down with Jake, followed by Brooke and Lucas, and lastly Vivian and Tim. It was almost Haley's turn. She smoothed out her dress and took a deep breath, "You can do this Haley," she said to herself.

"Nervous?" A voice said behind her.

She looked up in surprise. She knew that voice anywhere but hadn't heard it in so long. "Keith," she gasped. "What are you doing here?"

"Well I couldn't let my only daughter walk herself down the aisle."

"What.. How..?" Haley was speechless.

"Your dad called me," he admitted. "Since he couldn't make it, I figured I could step in as honorary father."

"Thanks Keith," she smiled as her eyes glistened with tears. Then the wedding march began to play.

"Ready?" He held out his arm which she accepted.

"Ready." The doors opened once again and out walked a stunning Haley in her long white dress. People smiled as she started walking and then some gasped when they saw who was walking her down. The murmurs were heard throughout the church, but quietly settled as they reached the altar. Nathan walked down to where they were standing and hugged Keith. "Thanks for coming back man."

"Anything for my favorite nephew and his wife," he said and went to take a seat.

Haley and Nathan joined hands as the priest began talking. "Dearly Beloved, we are gathered here today to celebrate the marriage of Nathan and Haley Scott…"

**-OTH-**

"_I'll be your crying shoulder. I'll be love suicide…"_

"I love you," Haley sighed as she rested her head on Nathan's chest. They were sharing their first dance at the reception to what they dubbed "their" song, I'll Be.

"I love you too Hales."

"They are so cute," Brooke sniffled as she watched from her seat.

"Slow down Brooke, I'm out of tissues," Lucas said.

"I want to get married!"

"I knew that was coming," he chuckled. "Some day Cheery, some day."

**-OTH-**

"One year ago today, I was preparing to leave for Charleston with Keith. Before I left, I promised a certain best friend of mine that I would say goodbye. When she wasn't at her house, I decided to check Nathan's apartment. You know Hales, all I wanted to hear you say was 'have fun in Charleston Luke,' or something like that, but no. Instead I get, 'we got married last night!' What a way to say goodbye," he chuckled along with everyone else in the room. "And while I was still sketchy when I left, I was happy for them. Anyone can see how in love they are and age should have nothing to do with it. So here's to you little bro, and sis-in-law, Thanks for making Brooke want to get married now," he laughed again as he raised his glass.

"What!" Karen yelled.

"Just kidding mom," he said sheepishly.

"Good because I don't know how many more weddings I could handle this year."

"My turn," Brooke hit her knife on her glass to get everyone's attention as she stood up. "When I first met Haley, I think it was during my conquest for Lucas. I was upset with her because I wanted Peyton and Nathan to get back together."

"Don't ever think that again," Peyton yelled out.

"I know goldilocks, now let me finish! Anyways, it was me that set them up on their first date. And even though it ended badly, it made Nathan realize what a better person he could become. So you're welcome tutor girl and boy, and no I will never stop using those nicknames. Love you guys!"

"Ahem," Whitey cleared his throat. "I would like to say something also. I have known these kids since they were little first graders. Haley and Nathan were part of different crowds growing up and they rarely interacted. When I went to Nathan after finding out he was failing English, I sent him to see Haley for tutoring. It was just one of those things. They remind me so much of my late wife and I, and I wish only happiness for them. And don't forget about me when you're a big NBA star Nate, and you're a singer Haley."

"Never coach," Nathan smiled.

After everyone's speeches, the party continued. People danced, Nathan and Haley cut their cake, and hundreds of pictures were taken. As the party began winding down later that night, Haley got ready to throw her bouquet. She went up to the top of the staircase and turned her back to the crowd.

"Ready?" The women cheered and clapped as Haley threw the bouquet. They all made a made dash to catch it first. After a few moments Haley heard a squeal. She turned around to see who it was.

"Broody we can get married now!"

**Thanks everyone for being so patient with me and this story. There's going to be only 2 more chapters I think. This story is old and worn and I'm tired of it. So the last chapters will be mostly fluff and cheesiness. Thanks for reading!**


	24. In 5 Years

**Having an emotional moment. Here is the last chapter.**

"Tutorgirl and boy," Brooke exclaimed as she ran into the apartment. "Ready to go?"

"I think so," Haley said picking up her bags and looked around the apartment one last time. "Nate, come on!"

"I'm coming, I'm coming. Where's Lucas?"

"Out in the car already, let's go," Brooke said. "Can you believe we are going to finally see Goldilocks! And Jenny too! She must be so big now!"

"I can't wait," Haley smiled. "It's been too long." The 3 headed down to the parking lot where Lucas was finishing packing up the car. It seemed so weird that it was just the 4 of them for the last 5 years. Haley remembered when she first found out Lucas was going to UCLA.

"_Brooke what's wrong?" Haley questioned as the sobbing girl stood at the door._

"_It's Lucas… he- he.."_

"_He what? Is he okay?"_

"_Yeah, he's fine," she sniffled as Haley ushered her inside. _

"_Then what is it?"_

"_He's going to UCLA," she let out in one breath and started crying again._

"_Oh Tigger," Haley sighed and hugged her. "It'll be okay. Everything will work out."_

"_How do you know that? You have Nathan, you'll be fine. I don't have anyone."_

"_Of course you do Brooke. You'll have me… and Nathan too. We'll all be at school together."_

"_I know, but you guys will be doing the whole newlywed thing and I'll be all by myself."_

"_We're not really newlyweds anymore…"_

"_Please, tutorgirl. You guys will never leave the newlywed stage," she smirked and chuckled slightly._

"_That's better," Haley smiled. "And think about all the new college boys you'll meet!"_

"_I guess…"_

"_Come on," she got up. "Let's go shopping."_

"_Is it weird that this is total role reversal here?"_

"_Yes, but let's just go with it."_

He ended up only spending a year in California. Both he and Brooke were miserable during that year. Haley wasn't sure how Lucas dealt with it, but she knows Brooke spent most of it at a bar. Homesickness settled in and Lucas ended up transferring to Duke, with the help of Nathan. The now famous Scott brothers led Duke to victory in both their junior and senior year.

Peyton ended up going to NYU and Jake soon followed halfway through freshmen year. He went to a community college in Boston so that he could still be around Peyton and she could watch Jenny grow up. They hadn't seen those 2 in years. After their freshmen year, the visits became minimal and eventually stopped, but they were still the phone calls and emails.

The 4 loaded into Lucas's SUV and knowing Brooke was going to be playing Britney Spears or Jessica Simpson, Haley came prepared with her iPod. She turned it on and cuddled up to Nathan in the back as she thought to the events of the last 5 years..

"_Can you believe we're here?" Peyton squealed as they all met up at the school._

"_I thought we would never make it," Haley said. "Is your dad here?"_

"_Yeah, he's trying to make an effort. We've both been working at it."_

"_Good, and be glad you only have him, my entire crazy family is here and every single one of them brought a camera. Be afraid," she chuckled and then screamed when someone came up behind her and lifted her up. "Nathan, put me down! You scared me!"_

"_I'm sorry, but I have something for you," he led her away from the group and pulled out a box._

"_What's this?"_

"_Open it and find out." She did just that to reveal a silver necklace with a heart charm in the middle. _

"_Aw, Nathan. I love it, thank you."_

"_I'm proud of you Hales, miss Valedictorian."_

"_Oh stop it. I can't believe I have to make a speech."_

"_You'll do great," he said and kissed her._

"_Haley! Nathan! Picture time!"_

"_My parents found us. Run!"_

"_Come on Hales, we have to get this over with sometime." And so the picture taking began. Several rolls of film were used before the ceremony even started. Then the principal ordered all the students to line up and the parents were to take their seats. _

"_Ready to do this buddy?" Lucas asked as the 3 Scott's got next to each other._

_She glanced over at Nathan for a second and turned back to Lucas. "More than ever."_

_Graduation Day. A day that every high schooler longs for and feels like it never comes. And today, it was here. Various members of the faculty, including Whitey, gave speeches. Then diplomas were handed out. Once everyone was seated again, Haley was introduced._

"_High school," she began. "Is a time of change. A time to figure out who you really are. When I first started at Tree Hill High, I was the tutor girl. That's all anyone knew me to be, it was all I knew I was. But then, something changed for me. I met Nathan Scott, big man on campus, leading scorer for the Ravens. It wasn't easy being friends with him at first. Too many times I was caught in the middle between him and Lucas, and we all know how frightening that can be," she paused as everyone laughed. "But things change and we all did. If you told me that when I first walked into Tree Hill High, my life would change forever, I wouldn't believe you. But it did. It changed all our lives. It just goes to show that our class didn't need cliques, we were better than that. I've made some great friends in the last few years, and an even better husband. Everyone talks about how much they want to get out of Tree Hill, but I'll miss this place. I'll miss the small things like walking to class with my friends, listening to Whitey yell at the basketball team, and all the people I've gotten to know who I won't see as much anymore. We've all been through so much together, wins, losses, and everything in between. And remember, no matter where you go, this place will always be with you. Tree Hill is your home. So congratulations to the class of 2006, we did it!"_

_Everyone applauded as she walked off the stage and now she could breathe. Haley spent so much time writing and rewriting her speech about how you can do anything you set your mind to and believing in yourself. Her final speech came out much more personal than that. It was something everyone could relate to. They all walked into the school as one person and they are leaving as someone else. When she got back to her seat, Nathan and Lucas both gave her a quick hug and the principal concluded the ceremony._

"_Great speech tutor girl," Brooke hugged her after the ceremony. "Definitely had me tearing up."_

"_Thanks," she smiled. "Come on, let's get out of here before my mom comes with the camera." The 6 of them piled into a car and headed for Karen's Café. They had all come so far in the last 4 years, and the countdown until their last day together had begun._

Haley reached for the charm on her necklace as she did often. Everyone always told her she was going to break it eventually. She had rarely taken it off ever since Nathan first gave it to her.

"Broody, are we there yet?" Haley's thoughts were interrupted by Brooke and Lucas, once again.

"Does it look like we're there yet?"

"Maybe…"

"If I say yes will you be quiet?"

"Nope."

"Do they ever give it up?" Nathan wondered aloud.

"We've been put in this position too many times," Haley agreed. "Next time, let's drive separately." Once again she put her headphones back on to drown out the couple in the front.

"_Are you sure you have to leave tomorrow?"_

"_Yes Haley, my first art classes start next week."_

"_What am I going to do without you?"_

"_You'll be fine. You'll have Nathan and Brooke with you."_

"_I'm gonna miss you Peyt," she sighed._

"_I know, life is just so boring without me," she chuckled. "Now come on, we're meeting everyone at the café for lunch."_

_The 2 girls headed for the café where the other 4, plus Jenny were already waiting. "Finally," Brooke exclaimed when they walked in. "I'm starving, we can eat now!"_

"_Nice to see you too Brooke," Peyton rolled her eyes and picked up Jenny. "There's my favorite girl."_

"_Um, hello? Your favorite girl is over here," Brooke waved causing everyone to laugh. Then Karen came up to them. _

"_Can I get a quick picture before I take your orders guys?" Everyone nodded and smiled for the camera. "Okay, thanks. I can't believe you are all leaving in the next week."_

"_But we're here now, so how about we order?" Brooke asked hopefully._

"_Right, what can I get you?" Karen took their orders and brought it out when it was done. They all ate and headed back to Peyton's house to see her off. The guys helped pack up her car while the girls got started on the goodbyes._

"_Peyton, don't go, stay with us," Brooke cried._

"_Please? Don't leave me alone with her," Haley added pointing to Brooke._

"_I wish I could guys, but New York is calling me."_

"_I'm going to miss you P. Sawyer."_

"_I'll miss you B. Davis, you too tutor girl," she said hugging them both._

"_The car is loaded and ready to go Peyton," Lucas said walking over to them._

"_Okay, thanks," she tried to smile. "I'll miss you Luke. Who else am I going to talk to about music?"_

"_Certainly not me," Brooke spoke up. "Seriously, call him whenever you hear about a new band."_

"_Don't listen to her," Lucas chuckled. "I'll miss you too Peyton," he said hugging her. Then Nathan came up to her._

"_Be safe Peyton," he said also hugging her. "And thanks for giving me the task of trying to calm down Haley."_

"_Better you than me," she laughed._

"_There's a smile," he said. "Come visit."_

"_You better visit me too."_

"_Definitely."_

"_Jake," Peyton choked out when she got to him. "I love you."_

"_I love you too," he kissed her. She pulled away sobbing even harder and all he could do was hold her in his arms. "Jenny and I will be up there as much as possible."_

"_And I thought the Notebook was sad," Brooke commented and they all sadly laughed. "Come on guys, group hug." They all came together one last time. "Remember what I said last summer? 5 years from today we all come back here. So don't forget." And they didn't_

It took Haley and Brooke a long time to calm down after she left. But they had to get ready to move down to Duke themselves and Lucas out to California. The day he left was harder than anything. Brooke cried for hours after he left and eventually cried herself to sleep at Nathan and Haley's apartment. Then came the day that the 3 of them left Tree Hill. Jake and Jenny were there to see them off and the girls cried all over again. Eventually Nathan got them in the car and on the road.

The 3 soon turned 4 of them led normal college lives. Well of course Nathan and Lucas were the most popular guys on campus. Girls threw themselves at them, but it soon became known how committed the brothers were. The 4 years passed quickly. Brooke got a degree in interior design and Haley got a degree in journalism. Both of them were with Lucas and Nathan at the ceremony when they were drafted to the Charlotte Bobcats.

"We're here," Brooke squealed when they passed a sign saying "Welcome to Tree Hill."

"I wouldn't have guessed."

"So what time are we supposed to be at the café?" Lucas asked.

"Umm in about an hour I think," Haley said.

"Could you drop us off at my parents house Luke?" Nathan asked receiving a questioning look from Haley.

"Why there?"

"Because I haven't seen them in awhile," he tried hoping it would work.

"Sure, because visiting your parents is the first thing you want to do? Nate, you tried your hardest to avoid them for the last 5 years!"

"Just trust me," he said as Lucas pulled into the driveway. "Come on Hales. See you two at the café."

"Hey Nate," Deb ran out to greet him. "How are you?"

"Great, mom."

"Why don't you guys just go? I'll get your bags."

"Go where?" Haley wondered aloud.

"It's a surprise."

"Take my car," Deb said handing Nathan the keys. "Have fun!" They got into the car and Nathan drove off to the mystery location, Haley pestering him the whole way.

"Tell me where we're going!"

"It'll ruin the surprise."

"I don't care, tell me please," she whined.

"We're almost there, just be patient."

"Fine!" 10 more minutes of silence passed until finally Nathan spoke again.

"Okay, we're here," he said pulling up to a large house. "Let's go inside."

"What's this?" Haley asked as they approached the front door. Nathan opened it and said, "Welcome home."

"What!"

"It's our house."

"Oh my God," she squealed looking around the house. "You bought this? When?"

"A couple of months ago. I know you always talked about moving back down here, so we can live here during the off season or you could come down when I'm on the road, or whatever you want to do!"

"Oh Nathan, thank you," she wrapped her arms around him. "I love you."

"I love you too. Now let's go. We don't want to be late meeting anyone." The couple left the house and drove to the café. Lucas and Brooke weren't there yet, but Jake and Peyton were.

"Peyton," Haley screamed and ran over to her.

"Haley!"

"Hey man," Nathan said to Jake. "How have you been?"

"Good, It's great to see you guys again."

"Aunt Haley?" A small girl asked coming out from behind Peyton.

"Jenny?" Haley asked with tears in her eyes as the little girl nodded. "Oh my God, you've gotten so big! Come here, give me a hug."

"She looks just like you Jake," Nathan remarked.

"I should probably be thankful for that," he chuckled.

"Jenny come meet your uncle Nathan," Haley pulled the little girl over.

"Hi," she said shyly.

"Hi Jenny. Wow, last time I saw you, you were just a baby. How old are you now?"

She held up 6 fingers. "Six."

"You're very smart, just like your mom," he winked and turned to Peyton. "And I don't mean that in the biological sense."

"I know," she smiled when suddenly the door swung open and the bells rang above it.

"P. Sawyer!"

"B. Davis!"

"Oh my God, I can't believe this, hi," she said with tears in her eyes. "Hug!"

When the girls finally broke apart, Lucas stepped in. "Hey Peyton."

"Hey Luke," she said hugging him. "I missed you guys so much."

"Oh my God," Brooke screeched again as she noticed the little girl next to Jake.

"That's my aunt?" Jenny asked Jake in amusement.

"Afraid so," he nodded.

"Take that back Jagielski. Hi Jenny. You've gotten so big."

"Hi Aunt Brooke."

"How did you know my name?"

"Mommy and daddy have lots of pictures of you guys around the house."

"Aw, give me a hug."

"Well look who it is," the petite woman came out from the kitchen.

"Karen," everyone said in unison. "It's so good to see you."

"You too," she hugged everyone. "It's so good to have all of you back here. I've been rather lonely the last few years without you guys around," she wiped a few tears from her eyes. "Now everyone sit down, I've prepared lunch for all of you guys and I'll bring it out in a second."

"So what's new with everyone?" Peyton asked.

"Well Luke and I both just bought houses down here," Nathan said.

"You knew about it," Haley asked Lucas.

"Maybe," he shrugged.

"Stop it," Brooke hit his arm. "Yes he did, we just went to see it!"

"So did we!"

"Well I don't know if you guys knew this, but Peyton and I have been living here for a few months now with Jenny."

"No way!"

"Yeah, we're actually back in my old house," Peyton said. "My dad ended up giving it to us, so it's in our name."

"Where's your dad now?"

"He's in London right now, taking some time off I guess."

"Have you guys heard from Tim or Mouth lately?" After high school, Tim had gone to UNLV and Mouth and Erica both went to Yale.

"I haven't seen them since the summer after graduation."

"I miss Mouth," Brooke sighed.

"Yeah, believe it or not, it's been weird not having Tim around," Nathan added.

"Whatever happened to Felix?" Lucas wondered and everyone shrugged.

"Are you guys hungry?" Karen asked bringing out trays of food.

"Starved!" And they all dug in.

**-OTH-**

"We've come a long way since we first walked in here," Haley said. All 6 of them had gone over to Tree Hill High and were sitting in the school gym.

"Who would have thought we would have ended up back here," Peyton said.

"So many memories in this gym," Jake said looking around.

"All those basketball games," Lucas said and then noticed Brooke glaring at him. "And those wonderful, gorgeous, sexy cheerleaders who always practiced in here."

"Guys, we have something to tell you," Peyton said. "I'm pregnant."

"And you waited so long to tell us!" Brooke yelled. "Yay, I'm going to be an aunt again!" Everyone said their congratulations and hugged the happy couple.

"Thanks guys. I think we better get going though so we can get Jenny to bed," she motioned to the practically sleeping girl in her arms.

"Bye!"

"Yeah, I guess we're going to go to," Lucas said.

"Going to christen the new house," Nathan smirked.

"Of course," Brooke said. "Let's go Broody, hurry up!"

"They are a unique pair," Haley chuckled.

"So do you want to go back to our house?" Nathan asked putting an arm around her.

"I like the sound of that.. our house.. yes let's go." The entire car ride back, Nathan noticed Haley seemed awfully quiet.

"You okay Hales?" He asked when they walked into the house.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Listen, I have to tell you something."

"Is it bad?"

"No, it's good. Really good… I think!"

"Okay… What is it?"

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "I'm pregnant too." She opened her eyes for a brief second to see a look of shock come over Nathan's face.

"You mean.. we're going to be parents?"

"Yes."

"I'm going to be a father."

"Yes."

"I'm going to be a father," he cheered picking Haley up and swinging her around.

"You're okay with it? Not mad?"

"Mad! Of course not! I'm thrilled! Then again, I hope I don't end up like my father, but I'll have you around! I can't believe this… We're going to be parents!"

A huge smile came across Haley's face. "I love you."

"I love you too. Come on, let's go to bed," he said and picked her up and carried her up the stairs. Nathan stripped down to his boxers and got in the bed while Haley stepped into the bathroom. Finally, she came back out and got in the bed also.

"What were you doing?"

"Just seeing how much I weigh before I blow up like a balloon. Will you still love me when I'm fat and have swollen ankles?"

"I'll always love you Hales," he said as he wrapped his arms around her and she snuggled into his chest.

"Good, because you're stuck with me."

"Wouldn't have it any other way."

They were finally happy. What started out as a tutoring session turned into so much more. There were many speed bumps to overcome and it seemed that at one point, they almost wouldn't make it. But all it took was one word on a doorstep that changed everything.

"Hi."

**Wow, I'm so sad. I can't believe it's over. Please, please, pleaseee review! Even if you have never left any comments before, I really want to know what you thought of my story so please leave something. Thank you to all of my loyal readers who stuck with me throughout the story. You guys are the greatest! I started another story a couple weeks ago, "All She Ever Wanted" so make sure you check that one out too! Thanks again for taking the time to read my story! I love you all!**


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